Cyclical
by Yitani East
Summary: Under attack by creatures dubbed "Hollow Eaters", The Gotei 13 is forced to call on Ichigo and his friends for help, but when disaster strikes, everyone will be forced to reevaluate just how much a certain Quincy means to them. Being rewritten.
1. The Cycle Restarts

_Okay! So, I've been laid up for a few more days so I may as well get started on this story. It's enough that it's been bouncing around in my head for this long, I may as well get it out there. Besides it'll give me something to do while I'm waiting to get a new computer instead of having to use my little sister's computer but c'est la vie, right? It could be worse. Anyway, this story doesn't seem dark at first, but it will be. Just like the anime/manga. Since Bleach has such a huge wealth of characters, I can't guarantee that I can use all of them. I will be using most of the Soul Reapers/Shinigami. If you would like to see a scene with a certain character I wouldn't mind if you gently let me know but no promises._

_As for the disclaimer, I don't own Bleach. If I did, Kaname and Gin wouldn't have died. I hope you enjoy this rather short first chapter but there will be much more to come trust me._

_Names you may not recognize:_

_Takeru Morishitta_

_Meaning: Warrior_

_Role: Takari's daughter_

Uryuu's Apartment

_"Call me anytime you need me, kid."_ That was the last thing Takari Morishitta said to Uryuu before she handed him a white business card, patted him on the head and walked out of the shrine to her car. He'd kept it ever since then. He would always remember Morishitta for her voice, deep for a female but soft all the same and the jangle of her bracelets as she bent down to kiss his forehead. He only remembered seeing her once before. He supposed it has stuck with him so much was because he had pretty much been yearning for his mother the minute she became ill. The moment she hugged him were a saving grace.

He didn't even remember taking this card with him when he moved out yet somehow it managed to find its way into his desk when he moved his sewing kit. He didn't believe in coincidences anymore. He'd never thought to call the woman, hell he barely remembered her but as he sat there on his bed twirling the card around in his fingers, he couldn't help but think that he needed to speak with her. However, Uryuu found himself distracted almost unable to function.

No matter what he did, he found himself afflicted with a with wandering distracting thoughts that made it so hard to concentrate. On his worse days, he'd sit down in class in the morning and suddenly the day was over. He'd confided in Orihime who suggested time skips caused by a solar storm or...something like that. As lovely as Orihime was, she didn't prove to be much help. He'd never been more unfocused in his life. It was embarrassing. His mind was struggling with a deep, longing feeling he couldn't seem to shake. Even in his dreams. The more time he spent with Orihime, Chad and Ichigo the worse it got particularly when he was alone with Ichigo. Which seemed to be happening more and more now that Chad had a part time job and Orihime was training with Tatsuki who had insisted on it.

He looked back down at the business card to try and remember anything else about this woman but it proved to be of no use. The card itself was only a name and a phone number. There was no actual business logo or any hint of color. Frowning, he picked up the phone and began to dial the number. He had no clue why he was doing this. This number was given to him at the age of five. It probably wasn't even functional anymore but she said call whenever he needed to and in that moment, he _really_ needed to.

He just didn't know why.

"Hello?" Whoever answered the phone was much younger than the woman he'd intended to call though she sounded similar.

"Hello, my name is Ishida Uryuu. I'm looking for Morishitta Takari, is she in?" He asked as politely as he could.

"No, sorry. She isn't." The girl on the other end replied. There was a long awkward pause. Uryuu opened his mouth to speak but the girl, most likely her daughter beat him to the punch. "Your father is Ishida Ryuuken, right?" She asked. He was taken off guard by the question and he nodded before he realized she couldn't see him.

"Um, yes. Yes, he is." Another awkward silence. "Why?"

"My mother and I are actually in Karakura Town for a visit." Nope. This was certainly not a coincidence. "She'll be glad you called. She's been trying to arrange a meeting with your father. Is he around?"

"I don't live with Ryuuken."

"...oh..." God, this was so uncomfortable. Chizuru often joked that for every awkward moment a gay child was born. At this rate, he and this girl could be responsible for Japan's entire future gay population. Uryuu scrambled to save the conversation, though at this point he probably should have just said good bye and hung up.

"Have you ever been to Karakura Town?" He asked incredulously.

"Yeah...I mean yes but not for a long time." She replied. She was scrambling too, he could tell. He then offered to do something he would've never cared enough to say.

"Would you like me to show you around? If you're not busy that is." He said. He was obligated. According to the Judea-Christian tradition of spiritual mothers and fathers, they were practically related.

"Oh, uh of course." She said quickly. "I-I mean...of course I'm _not_ busy." Nervous laughter from both of them. This was going to be _great_.

Urahara Shop

Kisuke hadn't heard those footsteps in a long time. Soft but clear and at times, grating click of a pair of high-heeled boots he'd once known so well and often dreaded. He sighed before walking to the entrance of his own store. There standing in the doorway was a tall dark skinned woman wearing the perpetual smirk he'd known her for. She was different than Yoruichi for the fact that it often seemed like he and Takari couldn't exist in the same room before going for each other's throats.

"Urahara." She greeted with her arms crossed. Kisuke tipped his hat before speaking.

"Morishitta Takari...didn't think we'd ever see you in this realm again." He said airily. Takari snorted.

"Don't be so dramatic." She said rolling her eyes. She shifted from one foot to the other. "You and I both know that I used to come back here. Often." Kisuke smirked.

"Well in that case, you've gotten old." He said pointing to her head indicating her gray hair. Her apparent age didn't lessen her power at all, that much was obvious by the way she punched him in the arm. He was numb down to his fingers for a solid two minutes and that was just a love tap.

"Shut up. Not everyone can cheat with a gigai." Urahara laughed nervously before she did anything else.

"That aside, what can I do you for?" He scrambled.

"I've been promoted to Oracle." Takari said placing her hands in the praying position. Kisuke's eyes went wide with surprise and perhaps a bit of fear. Takari was pleased when he grasped the gravity of this situation.

"Since when?" Kisuke inquired swallowing.

"Three years ago, according to the people of this realm." She replied. Kisuke knew that three years to Takari's people could be much longer or much shorter than any calendar year. She could have very well have lived a lifetime as an Oracle. "Unfortunately, this means I've gotten rusty. I'd like to spar..." Kisuke interrupted her chuckling.

"I suppose I should be _flattered_ that the first thing that the nefarious Takari Morishitta does when she comes to town is ask for a match."

"...with Yoruichi-san. Where is she?" Kisuke instantly deflated.. He wondered if she liked doing that to him.

"Not back yet. I don't quite know where she's gotten to." He explained briefly. Takari sighed.

"Course not..." She muttered more to herself than him. She shrugged and smirked. "Guess I'll settle for you." Kisuke returned the gesture.

"My thoughts exactly."

A Nearby Hotel

Takeru Morishitta stood outside of the hotel as she tossed her mother a text saying that she wouldn't be in the hotel room when she got back. She leaned against the wall and shoved her hands in her pockets. With a sigh, she glanced down the street. She hadn't expected Ishida to offer to show her around town and honestly, she didn't really want to but it'd be rude to decline. She didn't have any blood relatives, spiritual ones would work just fine. She shifted uncomfortably. She wasn't used to having her powers restricted but when she complained her mother just smacked her on the back of the head and told her to quit complaining.

"Morishitta-san?" A voice asked her. She lifted herself up off the wall meeting eyes with Ishida Uryuu. He looked much different than she expected him to look. He was so much younger than she expected. Perhaps she wouldn't have been so awkward if she knew she was talking to someone her age.

"Ishida-kun, nice to meet you." She replied. They shook hands and gave each other a deep nod. As a self proclaimed tailor, Uryuu could certainly appreciate what the girl was wearing. They were almost certainly hand made, not bought in any store. Her outfit was a little tomboyish but if it was tight he supposed she'd look a bit indecent as shapely as she was. She wasn't a classic beauty like Matsumoto or Orihime but she had a distinct earthy quality to her looks that gave her a certain charm that he could come to appreciate. He supposed he'd be attracted to her if he were into that sort of thing. The phrase "that sort of thing" meaning women, of course. Her eyes were a little unnerving though.

"The same." He offered a hand down the street. "Shall we?" The walked a few blocks down the street before they realized they'd fallen into yet another awkward silence. "Is...is there anything you wanted to see?"

"Well, I haven't been to Soma Cafe in a while..." She said. Uryuu smiled and nodded.

"I can do that." No, no not another awkward moment... "Um, so where are you from again?" He asked.

"According to you? Uh..." Wait...she had to think about it? "Baltimore, I think. It's in..."

"Maryland in the U.S. I know." Takeru silently raised an eyebrow that admitted sent chills up Uryuu's spine and prompted a flurry of neervous laughter. "Ah, sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you." Takeru just frowned and walked with Uryuu in silence for a moment. She obviously didn't like being interrupted. Uryuu wished he could fall through a crack in the ground. He didn't even know why he was doing this in the first place. He wouldn't have offered if he didn't remember her mother so fondly. They didn't have much to talk about. Between the two of them, Uryuu didn't get out much and Takeru wasn't even from this _country_. He wished he'd never...

_Hollow._

Uryuu immediately picked up on the sudden fluctuation of Spiritual Pressure. He tensed wondering if things at this point could get any worse.

_Two Hollows._

He made a mental note to stop tempting fate.

_Three hollows. Four...five...six...too many..._

For a minute, he looked back at Takeru who was thumbing away on her cell phone as if she were texting her mother. She seemed totally unaware of the impending Hollow attack. This was turning out to be a _fantastic_ day. He could hear the Hollows roaring together as she tucked the phone away in her messenger bag.

"Hey listen, I have go..."

"I'm sorry but I have to..."

For a second, they stared at each other, wide eyed instantly knowing exactly why they had decided it was time to leave. Takeru was the first one to recover from the shock.

"Do you know any high-speed maneuvers?" She asked. She hadn't seen the Quincy Cross so she didn't take any chances. Uryuu nodded in response. Takeru smiled for the first time since they'd met and nodded before looking in the direction of the hollows. "Good. Try to keep up."

Urahara Shop

"Rusty, you say." Urahara groaned cynically bent over a mug of tea. Still panting and sore, he glowered over at Takari who looked just fine, not a scratch on her, was lighting up a cigarette. "Ah, you've started smoking again, I see."

"Don't over analyze, we all used to smoke, it's how we met." Takari replied sharply taking a drag on her menthol.

"Kurosaki would be disappointed." Urahara said lightly.

"Just so you know, I have no reservations about beating the living tar out of you again." Takari replied levelly. After a moment of silence, Urahara managed to give Takari a solid once over. Sure, at first glance she acted the same, but she was anything but. Her posture and overall aura had changed all the way down to her reiatsu. For all of her smart-assery, he could tell something in her had broken. No...not just broken but ripped out, mutilated, shoved back in then torn right back out only to be ripped up and forced fed to her. He cleared his throat.

"Your daughter?" He asked. "I assume that she's in the Sereitei if she's not here."

"No. She's back at the hotel. Jetlag."

"Jetlag? Is that what you're calling it now?" Kisuke couldn't help but throw his head back and laugh. "Imagine someone that powerful still having to listen to her mother and take naps. Only _you_ could put the fear of God into a girl _that_ powerful." Takari grimaced.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She bleated sticking out her tongue childishly. Urahara shook his head and waved his fan dismissively.

"Nothing, nothing." He said with a soft laugh. He sat back, having finished his tea. "And what about your son? Is he back at The Agency?" The very minute he asked the question, the room suddenly went still. Urahara had only seen an expression of such profound sorrow once before. Suddenly, the weight on this woman's shoulders became disturbingly clear. For a minute, Urahara's heart ached for her. He'd met her son once before. He was an incredibly smart young man albeit strange. But he was her first child. She was protective of him, but she loved him all the same. She loved both of her children. With her head bent, he couldn't see her eyes but he could see that she was trying not to crying or say something she'd regret. "I see." He said quietly. "For how long?"

"About a year now. According to us anyway." She replied quietly. She exhaled blowing out some smoke.

"My condolences." Kisuke offered. Takari didn't say much but she nodded showing she appreciated the gesture. After a moment, he spoke again. "You aren't here on a pleasure visit are you?" Takari shook her head but she didn't seem too concerned.

"Nothing big." She replied. "It's sort of a good will mission for our absence during the Aizen debacle."

"Then why did they send an Oracle?" Kisuke asked. Takari frowned again disposing of her cigarette. She didn't speak turning her head briefly to the window she felt a rise in her daughter's energy and accompanied by oddly familiar reiatsu. She had hoped that Takeru would just let the Shinigami assigned to the area take care of it. She should have known that she was going to do the complete opposite. It looked like she'd made a friend too. "I see, you couldn't let her go alone."

"No. It's too soon. She insists I'm just back up." She laughed a little bitterly. "Of course she does she's seventeen. She doesn't want me tagging along. I promised to stay in the World of the Living until I was absolutely needed. Then she made some crack about me being old and getting in the way." She scoffed gazing back at him. "Who's the other one with her?" Kisuke's eyes glinted under the shadow of his hat.

"Ishida." Takari turned to him, shocked.

"Ryuuken? But he-" She bleated incredulously. Kisuke laughed and shook his head.

"No. That's his son, Uryuu."

Secluded Park

"Judgment! Sentence Number 25!" Uryuu called back Gentei Kojaku and leaped out of range as instructed by his new companion. Takeru's announced attack spawned a number of ominous symbols. They burned themselves into the Hollows' hide. "Lethal Injection!" Suddenly every remaining hollow slowed to stop then within minutes, their spiritual pressure halted and they had dissipated before they even hit the ground just like the stages of the actual death sentence. Uryuu gazed back at Takeru both confused and intrigued but before he could say anything, Takeru started to laugh. Forget intrigued. Now he was just confused. Takeru managed to get a hold of herself and she waved her hand at him. "Sorry, sorry..." She said. "I just realized we have something to talk about now."

Kurosaki Family Clinic

Ichigo didn't know much about his godmother though she'd visited many times before. What he did remember was her eyes. They were green but not like the emerald, more like the August birthstone the Peridot. She was from the U.S. So she did things a little differently from time to time like switching from "bashi" to "watashi" frequently. She either wasn't quite good at Japanese pronouns or just didn't care. Either way, this got her a lot of weird looks especially when she used "bashi". Out of three that were scattered about the house, there was one picture with her in it that he'd always caught himself staring at from time to time.

It was in front of the Lincoln Memorial in the U.S. Capital Washington D.C. His father told him that it was a trip to celebrate the end of medical school. He then laughed and said that it was pretty boring and they decided to pool their money to rent a car and spent most of their time driving cross-country. They ended up in Miami. Now _that_ was fun. His father then bragged about the way his mother looked in a bikini and that most of the pictures from that portion of the trip should probably not be seen by anyone under eighteen. Then he _really _didn't want to hear anymore. It had taken him seventeen years to figure out exactly who the people were in that picture.

Of course, he immediately recognized his mother and father. Though younger, they were pretty noticeable. His mother's hair was much shorter back then. It was the eighties after all. His father was still smoking back then and he didn't have any facial hair. To their right, there is another couple both with dark hair. It took him until recently to notice that this was actually Uryuu's father Ryuuken. Maybe it was because he had darker hair and he was actually _smiling_. His arm was wrapped around the waist of a lithe dark haired woman with eyes exactly like Uryuu's. She was laughing and holding her sides. On the other side of his parents stood another couple both dark skinned most likely African American but he was certain that his father said the male of the couple was actually from France. He recognized the woman as his godmother, a woman named Takari Morishitta, the other man was her fiance at the time though he'd never met him before. He assumed it didn't work out. She never talked about it. As he took the dusty picture from the back of the kitchen counter, he realized that they looked very much his his nakama.

As much as they hated to admit it, he and Uryuu would be their fathers while the women with them would be Orihime and Rukia minus the hand holding and kiss-faces. Beside them would be Chad. Renji could be his godmother. At first the idea made him laugh and then the image of Renji with breasts popped into his head and he wanted nothing to do with that. To be honest, he couldn't really think of the person who would be sitting next to Chad sharing a funnel cake with Uryuu and Rukia. He sighed and put the picture down. History was certainly cyclical.

Though she'd visited many times before, he only remembered one very clearly that was a year or so after his mother's funeral. He remembered being huddled by the door listening to her plead forgiveness she had already received before she even arrived for not being at the service. He didn't remember much afterward. On her way out, she patted his head and said.

"You are going to be some kind of power house one day, aren't you?" That was the last time me saw her. Up until he received his Shinigami powers, he always assumed that she was trying to encourage him. But as he thought back, closing his eyes for a moment. He clearly remember the long, sad smile on her face but what got him was her eyes. There was an unbearable glint in them that made it obvious that she saw far beyond him perhaps even farther than the Sereitei.

"Ichi-nii..." Ichigo tried to play it off like his Yuzu didn't just scare the ever-living out of him but no one would buying at the sound of his nervous, high pitched laughter. "Are you nervous?" Yuzu asked. Ichigo look from side to side.

"About what?" He asked still trying to get a handle on his nerves. Maybe he really was nervous.

"Daibo-chan coming to visit." She said. "You've been staring at that photo for fifteen minutes." Ichigo looked at the clock on the microwave. She wasn't exaggerating, he'd _actually_ been standing in the kitchen staring at an old picture for fifteen minutes. It was a wonder that Yuzu didn't have the Psychiatric Clinic on the line or something as many time as she's walked in on his rantings mostly to Kon who constantly insisted on bickering with him about breasts and occasionally asses.

"No. I...uh...no but I just...I was dusting it off." Yuzu just frowned like she always did and left it at that. He sighed and scratched the back of his head. He focused on the face of the woman they'd been anticipating all week. What was it that made him so apprehensive?

Central Karakura Town – Soma Cafe

Only minutes after the Hollow attack, Uryuu found himself sitting across from Takeru Morishitta. Usually a Hollow attack wasn't viewed as a good thing but in this case, it at least gave them something to talk about. They seated themselves outside at a small table. Ishida noted that Takeru drank coffee at 5 pm. That couldn't be healthy. She gripped the coffee mug tightly, trying so hard to be polite.

"If you don't mind me asking," He said politely. "What are you exactly?" He frowned after that, he realized he'd made her sound like some kind of object or possession rather than a person. Takeru picked up on it on his small faux pas, but he was thankful that she let it go.

"We're called Clerics." Takeru replied. "We're a system of courts and law makers that keep the balance between realities." Suddenly this conversation had gone to a level beyond Uryuu's comprehension. Takeru took his blank stare as a sign to go on. "We're like the Soul Society but instead of managing the balance of life and death, we do so between realities." She began tearing up her napkin and arranging the piece in a web like fashion. "You see, there are many different realities. We call them realms. They are constantly being destroyed and created."

"But because they are always moving they need balance to keep them from bleeding into each other." Uryuu added for elaboration.

"Exactly. So we're kind of like Spackle." Uryuu took the joke and laughed at little. "We exist completely out of time and space keeping things together." Uryuu went from amused to concern. "Ah don't look like that we don't have the power to _control_ it, we're not that powerful." She smirked again with her polite facade wavering. "You know you're taking this awfully well." Uryuu pushes his glasses up.

"I've seen a lot of strange things. At this point, very little surprises me." He sat back looking down at his tea then back at Takeru's smiling face. "As long as you're not trying to kill us or kidnap young girls, we don't have a problem."

"Kidnap girls?"

"I have a friend with one hell of a big brother instinct." Uryuu said with a tired sigh but Takeru saw the faintest hint of a fond, warm smile. "It normally gets us neck deep in some kind of life threatening danger."

"Sounds almost like you enjoy it." Uryuu had half a mind to get defensive but judging by the impassive smile on Takeru's face, she had just made a simple observation. That worried him even more. Though you couldn't pay him enough to actually admit it, he had long since come to the realization that he enjoyed Ichigo's company. Though lately, Ichigo's company was all he could think about. Even in his dreams Ichigo was there. Just..._there_. It was an uncomfortable topic, he needed a subject change. Takeru was polite enough to let him have it.

"You say that you exist outside of time and space...so I take you and your mother aren't blood related." It was more of a question than a statement of Uryuu's part. Takeru shook her head.

"Nope, but she's the only mother I've ever known. That's good enough for me." She said. Uryuu smiled.

"I don't think blood really matters when it comes to family." He replied basically agreeing with the sentiment. "I already figure as much, anyway. You don't look very much alike save for your skin color." They both appeared to be African American...though at this rate, he couldn't really be sure, just like with Yoruichi. He'd always wanted to ask but the minute the urge hit him, he always imagined getting his head lopped off and waking up in the Soul Society before he even knew he was dead. "Do you know every single reality at any time?" Takeru shook her head in response.

"No, we're normally divided into groups to handle a certain number. Since they're constantly changing we're all given a slice of the pie to maintain. We call the zones...I've never met anyone outside of my zone. Ever. I think it's just another way to keep the balance."

"This is a lot to take in...and you say it all so freely I..."

"Well, I wouldn't normally tell but you're a Quincy. According to history you've worked with us before." Takeru said calmly.

"Right Ryuuken and your mother were friends once. She was at my mother's funeral." He thought for a minute. He thought back to the trails of Hueco Mundo and Aizen who threatened the fabric of reality, destroyed lives and nearly destroyed two very dear friends. If she and the so-called Clerics were supposed to defend time and space then where the hell was she when they fought Aizen?

Kurosaki Family Clinic

Though under specific instructions to stay home until his godmother arrived, Ichigo had sensed the Hollows earlier but they were decimated by the time he found Kon. Uryuu was closer and he was willing to let it go for now though he wanted to call that boy just to see if he was okay. He looked down at his phone and thumbed down to Uryuu's number and took a deep breath. When did he get like this around Uryuu? At first he thought he hesitated because he didn't want to hear his mouth but no it was more than that. Much more. He just didn't know what the "more" was. He sighed when a little voice told him to have a little more faith in his friend. The doorbell snapped him out of his reverie like a whip crack. He wasn't expecting that.

Takari stood outside of the door with her arms crossed. Not that she wasn't pleased to be here but Takeru was late. She gave her the address the clinic wasn't _that_ hard to find. She decided to give her about ten minutes leeway. If she didn't show then she'd use her aura to bring her here by force if she had to. The door flew open to reveal a blessedly familiar sight.

"Ari-chaaaaaaaan!" Isshin came flying out of the door like a jet liner, arms open and stars in his eyes but after all these years her reflexes were still to much for him. She gabbed one of his fanned out arms and flipped him over her shoulder landing Isshin flat on his back with a hard "thud". Ichigo instantly remembered why he liked his godmother.

"We're over forty! You can't get away with calling me Ari-chan anymore, you dimwit!" Isshin noticed that she'd censored herself for the sake of Karin and Yuzu. If it were like old times she would've said "dipshit". The years had made her a little less vulgar though Ryuuken would probably disagree out of spite. With a disgruntled huff, Takari hefted Isshin off the ground by the collar with both hands. For a minute she looked as if she were going to hit him. Everyone in the doorway held their breaths. Isshin flinched before she could even get a chance to move him. His eyes were still closed when she hugged him tightly. "God, I missed you." She said with a smile. She squeezed him so tightly, she made his back crack. Judging by that absolutely devious look in her eye, it was totally on purpose.

"Agh! Agh! Ari-chan you're crushing me!" Ishhin cried trying to squirm his way out of her grip. She let go and grinned.

"Sorry had to get my eight years worth of hugs in." Daibo-chan said with a laugh. She turned to Yuzu and Karin and the ran to her like they were five all over again. Normally, a hug wasn't exactly a customary greeting in Japan, but being from the west...Takari-bochan didn't seem to care. Eventually neither did they. "Geez, time flies I feel like I missed the cute little girl stage and I've become godmother to two beautiful young ladies." Yuzu was instantly reduced to a blushing giggling mess. Karin just turned away blushing, but flattered all the same, you'd probably have to tickle her within inches of death for her to admit it though. Honestly it was a wonder they remembered her at all they couldn't have been older than five when they last saw her. When she let go of the two, she halted at the sight of Ichigo eying him like a stranger. She pursed her lips. Ichigo instinctively backed up a few paces as she advanced on him tapping her chin. She was messing with him, he knew that much but he couldn't help it.

"Who is this?" She asked poking his stomach. "Rock hard abs...?"She placed a hand on his head and compared her 5'8" to his 5'11". "One inch shy of six feet?" She circled him like a vulture then she poked him in the back. "Posture could use a little work." As he laughed nervously, she abruptly grabbed his chin and examined his face with her scrutinizing gaze. "But handsome enough to keep the girls drooling." She whipped around turned her back on him with her arms crossed. Karin and Yuzu were laughing by now. "Nope. This isn't my godson. I refuse to believe it!" She declared pointing her finger in the air. She turned her faux outrage on Isshin who was almost too busy dying of laughter to hear the joke. "Isshin! My godson was a short little thing! How am I supposed to believe that he grew into this handsome young man in just eight years?" She demanded. Ichigo wasn't used to the flattery. Through he nervous laughter he attempted to be just as lighthearted as she was. Not his forte. He scratched the back of his head trying to come up with something.

"Well, Bo-san...I..." She turned back around smiling warmly.

"Boy, don't sit there and stutter! Hug me!" She demanded. When she embraced him, the memories of all the time she'd come to visit, bearing gifts and stories of monsters and brave priests who came to save the day. If he hadn't known better, she could have given Katsuya Hoshin a run for her money. However, all of that stopped when his mother died. The last time he saw her was a year after her funeral. The way she looked at him, if was as if she were looking at her own son. Wait...didn't she have a son of her own? And she had a girl too about his age, in fact. Where were they? As he let go of his godmother, he almost asked about them. Suddenly, he remembered that his father had asked them not to mention her son. He never bothered explaining why though. Had he died?

"Dinner's almost ready Takari-bochan." Yuzu said as they all went inside. For a second, Ichigo paused. He looked briefly at his godmother then down at he hands. For a minute, just for a minute, he had sensed an incredible amount of reiatsu.

"Ichi-nii, come on!"

_Just Down the Street_

"Oh wow, the old lady is really pissed at me." Ishida watched with a frown as Takeru frantically texted her mother back on the phone. Most likely apologizing. If he'd guessed correctly, Takari Morishitta's wrath was practically legendary. "Thank you for walking me there. I haven't been to Karakura Town in ages." Takeru said.

"Oh, that's okay. Kurosaki and I are," _Close. _"Friends from school." Takeru's first response was to smile knowingly.

"Ichigo's the friend with the super powered brother instinct isn't he?" She prodded. She didn't need any answer other than those few seconds of silence before she started giggling.

"Am I really that transparent?" Uryuu asked a little embarrassed. Takeru ceased her tittering by clamping a hand over her mouth and shook her head.

"No, no...I'm just really good at guessing things." She said glancing up at the sky. Uryuu studied the girl she seemed to get more an more informal by the minute. He supposed she didn't get out much, if she was fighting Hollows like him or whatever maybe lurking in between the realms of space. He rolled his eyes at how dramatic that sounded. She'd probably be offended if he'd said that aloud. Takeru suddenly stopped before Uryuu could climb his way out of his thoughts. "Hey. Where're you going? We're here." Takeru seemed to be losing her polite act bit by bit. She pointed to the green sign.

"Oh, uh, yes. That's it." Uryuu said oddly. Takeu noticed his change in attitude but didn't anything. He walked her to the door a little lost in thought. He wondered briefly exactly why a woman who was supposedly his godmother would visit the Kurosaki Family but not...him. He tried to fend off the impending feeling of rejection with an imaginary Quincy arrow but it dodged and hit him right in the stomach. He sighed. He didn't remember enough from his mother's funeral perhaps she and his father parted on bad terms. He had no idea just how right he was when he knocked on the door. Usually, made sure Takeru made it inside then left but the thought of seeing the woman who once made him feel like he had a mother when his own passed away before his very eyes made him stay. He could feel reiatsu much like Takeru's beyond that door and he swallowed wondering if she would even remember him.

"Oi, Ishida, what're you doing here?" Suddenly he realized he'd been staring at Ichigo's chest for a good two minutes. "Oi. Uryuu!" He snapped his head up at the sound of his first name.

"I don't recall giving you permission to call me by my first name " He replied pushing up his glasses. Orihime once confided in Uryuu that whenever they bickered they wore secret smiles. Uryuu had always thought that Orihime was in love with Ichigo, of course she'd notice something like that. He just wasn't quite sure why she bothered mentioning it.

"Che, like I need your permission for anything!" Coincidentally, Chad told Ichigo just a few days ago that the two seemed the most open and and happy when they argued. In turn, they'd both confided to their respective friends that they were slowly beginning to realize what they meant. Upon hearing a quite giggle, Ichigo's attention was pulled away from Ishida for a minute to settle on a girl almost as tall as him, dark skinned and grinning at him fondly. "Oh, uh...sorry." He said. "Um...who're you?" Suddenly, that friendly smile vanished and Takeru's left eyebrow rose slowly. Who would've thought that an eyebrow could be so intimidating? Uryuu actually took a few steps back. What happened to the polite girl he met about an hour ago? Ichigo nearly went mad from he revelation. Oh shit. Before he could react or defend himself, Takeru knocked him off his feet.

"Kurosaki Ichigo! Do you mean to tell me that you don't remember me? Maybe if I hit a few more times will that jog your memory! Maybe if I put you in a choke hold you'll remember then huh?" Takeru shouted drilling the end of her knuckle into the side of Ichigo's head. Uryuu watched nonplussed.

"Cut it out!" Ichigo said attempting to crawl away from her. With an absolutely wicked glint in her eye, Takeru dragged Ichigo back and wrenched his arm up sharply.

"Not until you apologize!" Takeru declared devilishly grabbing Ichigo who was _supposed_ to have battle-honed reflexes and wrapping her right arm around his neck. "Apologize!"

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry! Stop strangling me!" Obviously if Ichigo could still breathe, she wasn't even wrapped that tightly around his neck. Takeru released him. There was a moment of long silence as Ichigo caught his breath and Takeru grimaced crossing her arms. A few seconds and Ichigo smirked up at his long lost god-sister. Takeru just couldn't keep a straight face and she dissolved into a fit of giggles Ichigo followed. "God, TK, you're like a tank you barely gave me any room to resist!"

"Says you! I can barely get your arm around your back anymore, you idiot!" Takeru said with hefting Ichigo up to his feet and hugging him. It was minutes after that the two realized Uryuu was still standing there eyes wide and glasses askew.

"I think we broke Ishida." Ichigo said with a quiet laugh. He waved his hand in front of Uryuu's face. "Oi Ishida!" Uryuu snapped out of his daze.

"I hear you, Kurosaki I'm not deaf!" He quipped pushing Ichigo's hand out of his face. "And now that Morishitta-san is where she needs to be," Ichigo felt an odd twinge in his heart but said nothing, "I'll be going now. Goodbye." Uryuu turned on his heel to leave and got two steps down the walkway before a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Uryuu?" _Call me anytime you need me, kid. _The voice of the older Morishitta froze him in place. Somehow he found the strength to slowly turn around to see his supposed godmother standing in the doorway of the Kurosaki Clinic. She had come to see what all the noise was and heckle her daughter for being late. With wide eyes, he watched as Takari Morishitta was overcome with joy. Normally if someone went to hug him, he'd come up with every excuse possible to not return it or try to get out of touching that person if necessary but with Ms. Morishitta he hugged her back tightly.

In that moment, Uryuu came to an epiphany. He'd missed her. That's why he wanted to call so badly. He missed this woman more than his own mother. He remembered her down to the faint scent of fresh cut ceder and peppermint. Why didn't she come to see him too? He got his answer before he even asked.

"I thought Ryuuken would keep me away from you forever." She said pulling back to look at him taking in the sight of him with pride as if he were her own son. Out of all the people Uryuu knew, no one had ever looked at him like that. No one. His heart clenched and he swallowed before having to bend his head with a it was then Isshin came to the door smiling.

"He looks just like her doesn't he?" He said. For minute, he could've sworn that Takari was no longer seeing him, but someone else entirely. He'd seen that look on his father's face only once in his life. Sure, his eyes were just like his father's but his hair, his build, even his far-sightedness...all of them came from his mother. Takari placed on top of his head smiling sadly.

"It's like seeing her all over again."

_Well? What do you think? It's just the first chapter so there's not much to pick at for now but there will be. The Original Characters in this story do play an important role but they are not the focus here. I'm going to do my best to keep the focus on Ishida. If I stray please gently lead me in the correct direction. Anyway, I love you for reading. Thank you._

_With Love,_

_East_


	2. Absolutely Beautiful

_So! Here we are the second chapter. I realize that I've said that this fanfiction will focus on Ishida? Well it still does, but there are other characters who need love too. To be honest, this fanfiction will be focusing on my favorite characters but mostly Ishida. This chapter features Yumichika. You will most likely find chapters that focus on Hanataro, Orihime, Rukia and Renji possibly Yoruichi, Urahara if I get the chance. There's no guarantee on the last two. Even though I have soft spot for those two as a couple. _

_Anyway this chapter gets a little dark, there's mention of drugs and a brief mention of self abuse but as usual nothing graphic. Yet. So far this story is shaping up to get pretty bad and this is only a little touch of how dark it's going to get. I will warn you as the story moves on._

_Theme Song for this chapter: Airplanes the Travis Garland version_

Absolutely Beautiful:

A glimpse into the life of Yumichika Ayasegawa

A Remote Part of the Forest

"Hado number one! Sho!"

Captain Ukitake never thought he'd ever see a sight like this.

"Hado number four! Byakurai!"

He placed a handkerchief over his mouth to block out the dust caused by the contained explosion. He sat on the ridge of the cliff to watch for a while. It was like watching a dog walk on two legs. No...that was inappropriate. It was more like watching a venomous snake slither through the snow. Normally in the snow, a deadly snake would be reduced to a slow moving creature getting closer to death with each inch, but this snake remained deadly and accurate.

"Hado number Fifty Eight! Tenran!"

Ukitake watched with growing fascination. It was something so alien and strange but at the same time beautiful. Beautiful. This particular shinigami would've appreciated that compliment. The minute the thought crossed his mind, a wave of sadness hit him. Yes, this shinigami was lovely, but according to the sight before him, this man wasn't living up to his true potential. He suddenly felt guilty intruding on what he now perceived to be a private moment that no one was supposed to see.

"Hado number Sixty Three! Raikoho!"

Ukitake scooted back a few feet. He honestly wished to have a word with this shinigami. That was probably the only thing that kept him here no matter what the nagging voices in the back of his head insisted that he go back to Kiyone before she lost her mind. Luckily, this was one of his good days. Any other day he could probably be inches from death all the way out here alone. He kept his reiatsu hidden for the time being to continue watching this fighter in action. He noticed the young man sweating bullets from the strain of using such high level kido. For someone who wasn't supposed to know the basest of kido spells, he sure had an extensive knowledge of it.

"Twin dragon, flying dragon marring heaven, Twin Wake Blue Waterfall! Hado Number seventy-three! Soren Sokatsui!"

Ukitake wasn't expecting that spell especially not with this seated officer looking so exhausted. He covered his eyes as dust filled the area. He backed up some more. He had to get far out of the way of the dust, or he'd really be in trouble. As the everything began to settle, it appeared that the shinigami in the ravine below wasn't stopping anytime soon.

"Hado...! Hado number...Hado...number..." That is until he body stopped him itself. The younger shinigami collapsed finally giving way to exhaustion. Though it may have been a bit insensitive of him,Ukitake laughed to himself. This shinigami seemed to even pass out beautifully, one arm laying over his chest and the other splayed out to the side where his zanpakuto lay just out of reach. Sighing, Ukitake knew that he wasn't so sickly as to not take pity on this poor child. Even he most likely chose this area for it's distinct lack of hollow activity, there was always the off chance that undesirable company would come along and try to pick meat off of a helpless opponent. With a quick shunpo, he collected the surprisingly light shinigami bridal style thinking to himself that Kiyone would have an aneurism just seeing him carry someone like this. All the same, he was sickly not useless. Upon further study of the young man's face, he saw evidence of tears. Now he certainly had to have a word with this boy whether he wanted to or not.

"Captain Ukitake!" When the captain arrived at the Squad Thirteen barracks you would've thought that he'd been missing for months. He just smiled through Koketsu and Kotsubaki's lamentations about how worried they were, if he was feeling okay...the usual. While they were often seen as annoying by most, he really couldn't help but love them for it. They were sweet, honest, a little strange but caring all the same. Unohana once jokingly suggested that he was the only person in the Seireitei who could put up with them. He disagreed but he found it funny all the same. They were so busy fretting that they hadn't even realized that they didn't realize he was carrying someone.

"Thank you for your concern, but I was hoping you two could help me with Ayasegawa-san." His response was a high pitched cry protest from Kiyone.

"Captain why would you bring someone from eleventh here? Unconscious or not..."

"Regardless, Lieutenant Koketsu, Ayasegawa is in need of a place to rest and taking him to Fourth Division would attract far too much attention lest one of his comrades find him and he catch hell about it. I would like him to rest here for a bit." Ukitake replied. Of course to anyone else this would sound like utter kindness but Koketsu and Kotsubaki knew the fact that he used something even close to profanity meant "Do what I said. Now." He'd got such a technique from his old friend Unohana who was still far more terrifying than even Ayasegawa's captain could hope to be.

Kotestu and Kotsubaki took the young fifth seat inside the barracks and Ukitake went to go find a friend of the troubled young man. At first, he'd set off to find Madarame who Ayasegawa normally followed. However, after about two minutes he knew it would be a bad idea. What if he accidentally let slip that Ayasegawa was practicing kido? And not just twenties or thirties kido but high level stuff that could only be used by someone who'd been a regular kido practitioner for at least ten years. No, Madarame, however close he and Ayasegawa were, was not a good idea. Besides, the dust Eleventh barracks would aggravate his symptoms far too much. He was having a good day and he didn't want to ruin it. Walking further past a woman holding a sake jug, he remembered briefly that Yumichika was often seen with Lieutenant Matsumoto usually doing her hair or helping her pick out clothing to wear to the World of Living. He bought a large bag of candied beans and picked up the pace a little to the Tenth Barracks.

Tenth Division Barracks

Matsumoto was far more interested in this magazine from the World of the Living to than the stacks upon stacks of paper on the table. Since when was paperwork ever important? She was far more engaged in this place called Victoria's Secret. Who was Victoria? What was her secret? Her secret was obviously all these fashionable undergarments because no one would ever see them. Of course not unless you wanted them to. Yumichika always insisted that Victoria should rename the store lest she confuse anyone. Because being left out of the loop was so "unbeautiful". She clenched the sides of her magazine thinking of that awful word. Who would have guessed that Rangiku Matsumoto was a stickler for grammar? Captain Hitsugaya was the only one who fell victim to her _unyielding_ need to fix anyone's grammar but everyday Yumichika got dangerously close to severe punishment.

"Ah, Lieutenant Matsumoto. Just the woman I wanted to see." Had Rangiku seen or even heard Captain Ukitake enter, she wouldn't have screamed, or thrown her magazine in the air or have fallen over. Unfortunately, she hadn't so she did all three. "Did I come at a bad time?" From anyone else that would've been nothing but sarcasm but Ukitake was genuinely concerned that he may be interrupting something. Play was just important as work after all. It was pretty much the only thing he and Zaraki agreed on.

"No, no Captain Ukitake, of course not." She said quickly stuttering out a flurry of nervous laughter. She hoisting her top heavy self to her feet and dusted her hakama off. "Captain Hitsugaya's not here at the moment." _If he were he'd probably reprimand me for slacking off...not that it would work...but still._ "I'm sure I can relay any message you'd like to leave him." _As long as it's anything but candy, he might yell at both of us. _Captain Ukitake just smiled kindly, who could refuse that smile? There was only one person she could think of and he was rotting alive in a prison cell, which was much less than he deserved.

"No, no, as I said I came looking for you. I need to talk to you. It's important." Ukitake said waving a hand leaving Matsumoto a little stunned. For her? People do go looking for her unless they want to go out somewhere and that was just how she preferred it. She knew when people came to her for business, it was always _bad_. Like rampant ryoka bad. "You and Fifth Seat Ayasegawa are close right?"

"Yes." She replied slowly. _What are you getting at, Captain?_ "Why?"

"Does he ever...eat?" Ukitake asked. "I found him collapsed in a ravine in the complete opposite direction of the Eleventh Squad barracks. He's light enough for me to carry bridal style. That's cause for alarm in my book." Once he finished talking he realized that Matsumoto had turned away from him, fists clenched, head bent. He sighed. "So there_ is _something wrong."

"Yes sir." Matsumoto replied as calmly as possible to keep her voice from shaking. "Ikkaku is such an idiot." She muttered.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing." She said quickly folding her arms under her ample chest grateful for a moment that Ukitake was immune to large breasts. After a long moment of silence, she spoke again this time quietly, and cautiously, "Did you, by any chance, find him practicing kido?"

"I did, yes. He was at the point of exhaustion but he kept going." Ukitake replied. "The resolve of the Eleventh Division..." He said thoughtfully only to have Matsumoto sneer at their so called resolve.

"Yumichika..." No honoifics, Ukitake noted. They were closer than he thought. "...he's..." Matsumoto couldn't quite come up with the words to describe the predicament he was in nor did she want to give him away. "Well, is he in the Fourth Barracks? I'd like to talk to him privately, if that's possible."

"Oh no, that's why I came here. I wouldn't have gone out of my way unless I knew something was seriously wrong." Ukitake replied. _At least he's honest about it,_ Matsumoto thought. "He's in the Thirteenth Barracks resting as we speak. He's not injured or anything, he'll be fine, I just thought that considering the circumstances, it'd be too much to bring him to Fourth. I think it'd raise too many questions. Especially since he'd gone out of his way to stay hidden. Honestly, my seeing him was pure chance." He left the bag of candy on Hitsugaya's desk and turned toward the door. "Are you coming?"

"Not right away." Matsumoto replied. "I need to get something first." Ukitake nodded and left the room.

Thirteenth Squad Barracks

Kiyone noted that Ayasegawa was abnormally quiet as she set his freshly washed clothes by the door. She'd always noticed that he'd be humming or singing some kind of song but today, he wasn't. She never thought she'd see the day where a member of the Eleventh Division was completely silent. The slender man moved like a ghost. She didn't even know he'd come back from the bath until she heard his door shut.

"Thank you, Koketsu-san." Yumichika said quietly as she walked away. She panicked a little. The door was still shut tightly and she was careful not to make a noise thinking he'd fallen asleep again. She just crept away as a slender arm retrieved the clothing from the other side of the door.

"Uh, your welcome." She said then bolted down the hallway. Ayasegawa was pretty odd but seeing him so quiet was just downright unsettling.

Yumichika was sore and weak all the way down to his legs. He wished he was back in his room. He could put lotion on his burned hands, inspect his skin for any bruises, completely change clothes and not just wear the ones that had been damaged by all the wind and dust. Still it was ugly to refuse throw someone's kindness in their face. Especially someone like Ukitake. Who could resist a smile like his? Not to mention refusing Ukitake meant incurring the legendary wrath of Unohana. No, he'd taken enough self inflicted abuse today, he didn't need to get anymore heaped on him lest he mar his perfect skin...save for the damnable burn. Credit went to Koketsu for her superior wrapping skills. No doubt learned from her sister Isane who would be lovely if she just opened up a little. He smoothed down his hair glancing around noting that not a single mirror was to be found, not even a reflective surface! Did they expect him to just walk out of here without a once over at the very least?

"Looking for something?" The door slid open and there stood Matsumoto holding out a mirror.

"Thank you, Rangiku, you are a life saver." He said with great relief taking the small mirror from her with a kiss to her cheek. "My hair is absolutely filthy." He muttered.

"You look fine." Rangiku insisted before she could stop herself. At Yumichika's despair-stricken face, she rushed for a recovery. "I-I-I mean pretty! Beautiful! You look beautiful." Yumichika pouted.

"Now you're just saying it." He groaned pitifully. Rangiku pulled out a brush and comb seemingly from between her cleavage. She motioned for him to sit and she drew the comb through his hair. Perfect as always. They sat there in silence for a minute. He would do the same for her. After a night of drowning her sorrows, he'd brush her hair and apply her make up just to make sure she looked presentable in the midst of a hangover. Yumichika was a heavy drinker in spite of his thin frame. However, he wasn't apart of her normal drinking crowd. Yumichika and Kira didn't exactly get on when they were drunk. When she was hung over, he just happened to find her, help her clean up and get her to work. _A beautiful lady like yourself should go to work everyday looking poised and radiant no matter what the circumstances. _Normally that would sound like a pointless lecture on etiquette but Yumichika was a difficult person to decipher. If he took the time to help you look your best rather than just commenting on how you look, he liked you. A lot. So Ikkaku had better be fucking grateful to have a friend like Yumichika.

"There." She said lightly. Yumichika looked back at her smiling.

"Thank you." He replied getting to his feet and she followed shortly after, tucking the brush, comb and mirror wherever she got it from. Yumichika took a moment to stretch his tired muscles while Rangiku gathered her remaining courage to say what she needed to say.

"Ukitake asked me to come here." She said quietly.

"I figured as much."Yumichika replied. "He's a very kind man. Too kind. It's ugly to give so much yourself to so many people at one time. It's like being a whore." Matsumoto didn't miss that bitter, sweeping tone in his voice. She knew he wasn't talking about Ukitake. Quietly, he added, "He gave me his word his wouldn't tell."

"He should." Matsumoto replied vehemently unwilling to let it go this time. She let the floodgates open and the reproach was just flowing out at this point. There was no way of stopping it.

"What?" Yumichika turned on her, betrayed.

"You're going to hurt yourself one day. You're lucky someone found you this time. I don't know what you're hiding Yumichika, but this has got to stop. The Eleventh Squad is making you miserable."

"What gave you the _slightest_ inclination that I was _miserable_, Rangiku?" Yumichika snapped heavily. "They've done nothing to me but accept me, love me, treat me like a brother and gave me respect that I didn't receive in life or death. I'm miserable because my own failings. I'm not so _hideous_ as to blame _my shortcomings_ on others!" Matsumoto was stunned speechless for a moment. Yumi had never yelled at her before. He immediately bent his head in shame. "I'm...I...I apologize, I don't know what came over me. I'm so sorry." He sputtered out. He turned his back before she could say anything else. "Thank you, for letting me use your mirror and comb Matsumoto-san." Those last two words were like a dagger to her heart. She supposed she should feel better that Yumichika wasn't mad at her but no Yumichika was mad at himself. So mad that he was willing...no. No. That totally went against the ethic of the Eleventh Guard Squad that was so dear to him. Nevertheless, he was in pain and right now, she and to a lesser extent Captain Ukitake were the only two people who knew.

"At least eat something before you go back." She called.

He didn't hear her.

Eleventh Squad Barracks

Ikkaku glanced at the sun. Yumichika was late. Not "_fashionably_ late", whatever the hell that meant, but just fucking late. He had to start without him leading into the inevitable bitching that was to follow. Oh well it was his fault. He was late. He would just have to deal with it. Still, the Captain seemed mildly entertained watching his third seat wipe the floor with anyone who dared to spar with him which was everyone, naturally. But to Zaraki, this was something he saw everyday, he missed the yearly ritual of watching Yumichika destroy the new cadets. He got a kick out of watching them underestimate his fifth seat and then getting their asses handed to them on a silver platter with dipping sauce. When he did see the Fifth seat, he immediately picked up on the abnormal behavior and low spiritual pressure. He'd been around this kid for over fifty fucking years he knew when something was up, but this was the Eleventh Squad. If he had problems, he dealt with them on his own and never complained. Still, Ayasegawa entered _quietly_. That hardly ever happened. Something was off. Way off. Like Unohana eating red meat off.

Arms folded, the tired narcissist looked upon the scene before him smirking like it broke his face to do so. He had thanked Captain Ukitake and promised to compensate him for his trouble in spite of the man's protesting. He was glad to be back home for the time being. Thriteenth was far too quiet for him. He was afraid to hum much less speak. He still felt horrible for that outburst at Matsumoto and tried to develop a beautiful way to apologize. At least for now he could relax. Here. At home. Where everything was so simple. A good fight, a better fuck and everything would be alright...at least for the moment.

"Oi, where the hell have you been?" Ikkaku's voice shouting at him for tardiness brought a smile to his beautiful face. "You're late!" Yumichika chuckled in response.

"Oh, Ikkaku, you should know that beauty has it's own schedule." He replied flipping his hair. The new cadets started sniggering amongst themselves. He ignored them. For now.

"Well, I'm bored of beating these candy-asses into shape. Take over." Ikkaku said tossing him the beat up bokken. Yumichika made a flawless catch as usual. The overall mood from the cadets seemed to lighten up a little like they believed they had a chance at winning with him. It was the same every year and he never got tired of it.

"Will you do the honors Yachiru-chan?" He asked the little girl going to town on a large bag of candied beans. Halting in mid bite, she hopped up.

"Okay!" She chirped and ran out of the room to retrieve the nearest rope. Yumichika looked about the crowd to pick his first victim, like a falcon picking and choosing his prey.

"I bet I can take this faggot." There. The comment was meant to be a boast from some sniveling rat but Yumichika took offense. You could say pretty much anything you want to him and he'd blow you off for being "ugly" but this was one word he just couldn't let slide. Ikkaku looked about ready to teach the boy a lesson for mouthing off right then and there but Yumichika quietly waved him off.

"You." He said pointing the bokken at the boy. "Your name." The cadet stood to his feet acting attempting to act like a proper soldier.

"My name is Fura. The best..."

"Okay, okay settle down." Yumichika interjected much to the young man's indignation. "You're first." He said motioning for the boy to stand in front of him.

"I brought rope, Feather-chan!" Yachiru flew back into the room practically dancing. He bent down low to let the girl tie the rope around his arm and behind his back. Yes, the was going to beat this young man with low reiatsu, aching muscles and one hand tied behind his back. He was going to beat them all. When he got up from the floor the new cadet was fuming at his superior's confidence.

"What's wrong, Fura?" Yumichika asked with crap-saccharine concern. "You seem a little upset."

"If you think I'm going to sit here and let you humiliate me because of your rank, you're wrong." Fura nearly shouted at him. Such disrespect. How ugly.

"Oh no, Fura, you're going to to humiliate yourself." Yumichika replied. This was enough to piss the young cadet right off and he rushed in with no preamble or any word that he was coming. Ikkaku smirked. That kid was in for a world of hurt.

To say the fight, if one could call it that, only lasted seconds, that would be pretty generous. It was over before it could even start and Fura tried three times to get even the tip of his bokken to hit Yumichika. This was a failure for the record books. On his third try, he'd actually wised up to Yumichika's style a little and went for an underhand strike. Clever but not good enough. Like water, Yumichika dodged the strike, a parry and counter wasn't even necessary at this point. The first strike he delivered broke the young man's nose, the second went right to his mouth. Fura crumpled to the ground trying to keep his teeth inside. He looked up to see Yumichika holding the bokken at his face. The blood in his veins turned to ice the minute he looked into the fifth seat's face.

"Don't ever let me hear that ugly word come from your mouth again." Yumichika stated coldly. "Get back in line." Fura didn't even bother standing. He _crawled _with his tail between his legs back to his place in line. Kenpachi grinned. It looked like he'd get his entertainment after all.

It was nightfall when the session was over. Yumichika's body screamed in protest as he moved his tied left arm from side to side to get back it's regular circulation. He ignored the pain but he was pretty exhausted. Unlike the cadets, he remained unscathed but he was sweaty. Time for another bath. The "better fuck" he'd been waiting on would have to wait until tomorrow night.

"You look beat." Ikkaku stated bluntly.

"Such a beautiful way with words." Yumichika chided sarcastically. Ikkaku didn't take him seriously. There was no need to.

"Where were you all day?" He asked.

"Out." Yumichika stated simply. "And since when does it matter where I've been? Don't I always come back?" He asked placing his hands on his hips pouting with playful offense. Ikkaku smirked.

"Yeah. I guess you do." He said sitting next to his friend. _Best_ Friend. He looked down at Yumichika's left hand. He hadn't noticed the bandage until now. "When'd you get that? Did you get in a fight and not tell me? What happened to watching each other's fights? You said..."

"Will you take a breath, please?" Yumichika replied waving him down. "I ran into Matsumoto today. There was cooking involved." It was a lie but a believable one. "It's a burn." Ikkaku settled down glad to hear that Yumichika hadn't gone back on their promise. Though, said narcissist was a little pissed that he thought he had in the first place.

"Watching you knock some sense into those cadets always reminds me of old times." Everyone talked about how Ikkaku fought all the time in those days, no one ever mentions that Yumichika was there with him every step of the way finishing just as many fights as Ikkaku started.

"Eh, don't remind me. My hair was so long and troublesome back then." Yumichika quipped running a hand through the attribute in question. "It got caught in everything and it's not like the Rukongai had an open barbershop." They usually spent money on things like food, bandages and soap. Scissors were out of the question and there was no way in hell Yumichika would be caught dead cutting his perfect black silky hair on a sword. No. Just...no.

"I liked it long." Ikkaku insisted. Yumichika just rolled his eyes. He had half a mind to be offended. Ikkaku laughed remembering a particularly funny instance with a curious child who thought that maybe hair would be edible. Yumichika's response had been hilarious but the boy was starving. That was the day Ikkaku noticed that Yumichika had a soft spot for crying children. He wondered if that was the _only_ reason Yumichika seemed to be unfazed by almost everything Yachiru did.

Suddenly, there was a long moment of uncomfortably somber silence. Which was strange, Ikkaku noted. Yumichika was always such a good mood after training the cadets.

"Do you remember that lean-to we built by the river?" Yumichika asked. His voice was damn near inaudible but it caught Ikkaku off guard all the same.

"Yeah," His breath caught in his throat. Of course he remembered. He remembered every shelter he and Yumichika ever built but the river...the river was the one he constantly tried to forget. "What about it?"

"I saw it today. It's still there." Yumichika replied quietly looking down at the ground. That's what had brought on the onslaught of emotion that drove him to go to the ravine. That little thing that used to mean nothing. He went to the ravine to squelch that horribly ugly feeling of rejection. "Of course it's all over grown and rotting by now but it's was kind of nice to see that it's...still there." There was more heavy silence between the two. Ikkaku and Yumichika couldn't bear to look at one another while the acrid fumes of regret drove a wedge between them once again. "I..." Yumichika began but he reconsidered his words. There was more uneasy quiet before he reformed his thoughts. "My feelings for you haven't changed since that night."

"I know."

"I've never hidden them." Ikkaku grunted and stood to his feet.

"Shit, Yumi, do we have to talk about this now?" He ground out striding away before even waiting for an answer.

"No. I suppose not." Yumichika replied to no one. With a grunt of effort, he stood to his feet. He was sticky and gritty. He needed a bath. However, two steps later, he found himself faced with an obstruction by the name of Captain Zaraki.

"Let's go. We're eating." The captain said forcefully turning his fifth seat the opposite way. Yumichika just laughed.

"Sorry, captain but I've sullied myself enough for one day. I'm going to..." He looked up at Zaraki's face and found the man scowling. _That's an order._ Yumichika didn't need anymore convincing. It was just his captains way of being concerned and he came to understand that. He supposed he had been losing a little too much weight recently. He sighed in defeat and walked with the captain back outside where the rest of the seated officers were eating and talking amongst themselves. He found himself sitting by Ikkaku again who still didn't seem to want to look him in the eye. Yumichika was sorry he even brought it up.

No. He wasn't sorry. Because beautiful people don't have regrets and everything about him was physically perfect. Hair: Jet black and silky. Eyes: The color of wisteria lovely enough to send his own zanpakuto into a jealous rage. Hands: calloused but still somehow demure and soft. The Shinigami Women's Society came to him for beauty secrets. Even the terror of the Soul Society Captain Retsu Unohana herself asked his secret to no split ends. Her hair had gotten so much lovelier. Even men, particularly one by the name of Byakuya Kuchiki, asked him just how did he get his skin so damn clear. Apparently not even the stress and grime of fighting each and every day could make Yumichika Ayasegawa break out.

He was beautiful. The loveliest flower in all the Soul Society. He was the Stylidium, a ravishing, delicate but viscious thing. He was carnivorous, dangerous...and on the inside he was...full of...

...mangled insects...

...stale blood...

...rotting flesh...

...and regret.

So much regret.

Only half full but completely bathed, Yumichika lay his exhausted body down that night. He tried to think of something, anything to keep the pain away. He'd tried opium before. It nearly got him discharged. He tried sex. It didn't seem to be working anymore. It's not good to have anonomyous partners when everyone knows who you are. He just gazed out of the window, determined to say beautiful. No one could ever see the dark, hideous insides all that mattered was the beauty on the outside. He couldn't be like Matsumoto sharing herself and her wonderful face with the world. She had nothing to be ashamed of. He had everything to be ashamed of.

He was a member of the Eleventh Court Guard Squad. This was his home. Where his friends and brothers were. Where Yachiru and the only man he'd ever call father were and where the man he loved lived everyday exactly as he wanted. There was nothing more glorious or sacred.

Everything inside Yumichika would mar it's perfection. So what else to do but make himself look perfect? Nothing. There was _nothing else_ he could do. He would pluck, preen, pull, primp, cover up the scars on his arm, neck and chest..._everything._..just to blend in with the beauty that surrounded him everyday.

He fell asleep past midnight and woke up at sunrise.

It was after he got dressed when an alert came to the Eleventh Division. Apparently there was an abnormal amount of Hollows gathering outside of the Rukongai. He smiled. What a beautiful way to begin the day no matter how sore he felt.

"Oi, Yumichika! Hurry up!" Ikkaku called him by his first name and he smiled. Nothing could compare to the feeling of being home.

"Your impatience is so unbecoming, Ikkaku. I'll be right there." When he arrived outside, Ikkaku was waiting for him. As they walked to join the other's Ikkaku placed a hand on Yumichika's shoulder. _We'll talk about it one day. _Yumichika just silently patted the hand on his shoulder. _I know._ Ikkaku smiled a little. They didn't need to speak to each other to communicate anymore. They just knew each other that well. Yumichika started fiddling with his arm warmer again.

"Will you stop that?" Ikkaku bleated. "You look pretty, quit fidgeting." Yumichika laughed lightly. Ikkaku would never say that to anyone but him. He could at least take that comfort.

"Oh I was just considering changing the color of my arm and neck guards. I was thinking maybe I should ask the Ishida boy to make me a green green set." Yumichika replied hiding the fact that he was acutally scratching the healing burn from yesterday Kido session on his hand.

"You can't just buy one?"

"And risk it being damaged by hands that I don't trust?" He snorted. "The boy made my festival yukata by hand, he has a gift for perfection. I would much rather..."

"Okay, okay, I got it." Ikkaku said rolling his eyes but he was still smirking glad Yumichika was back to normal.

Walking outside, Yumichika could feel the anticipation of battle stemming through his brothers and, contrarty to popular belief, sisters. He smiled.

This was home and it was absolutely beautiful.

_This chapter took a lot of thought. The first draft made Yumichika seem like some silly nit. I actually had to rewatch the battle with Charlotte Cullhorne to get a solid hold of his character again. He doesn't get much screen time compared to Ikkaku or Kenpachi. I apologize if Ikkaku seems a bit out of character but I always figured he acted a little out of character around Yumichika when the others weren't around. Also I've always figured there were a few femlaes in the Eleventh...just some very manly looking ones. Anyway please reveiw I thrive off of constructive criticism. Even if you don't review I love you for reading._

_With love,_

_East_


	3. Absolutely Needed

_Okay so I hope you've all noticed a trend. I will try to update every week on either Tuesday or Thursday but no promises. In case life happens, I will most likely tell you if I'm taking a week off or something like that. In this chapter we're back in the Living World. I tired to write Chad and Orihime as best as I could and I _swear_ that Chad will _win_ a battle in this fanfiction so help me God. I am so tired of him losing. Also, there will be no bashing in the Fanfiction. Orihime, Hitsugaya, Hinamori and all the other characters people like to hate on will all be portrayed in a positive light and hopefully in character so please don't go asking me to bash or slutshame them. People have asked me to do that before and frankly it irritates me. Aizen is the only exception to this rule and seeing as how he's not in this story it doesn't matter. _

_Another note: I'm going to go ahead and say that this is AU possibly a month or so after the Fullbring arc or something like that. To be honest, I haven't a clue as to where this story falls on the time line so I'm just going to say it's slightly AU. _

_Names you may not recognize: _

_Yashin Morishitta_

_Meaning: Ambitious_

_Role: Takari's son. Deceased but mentioned often_

Absolutely Needed:

Looking back while struggling forward

Dinner had been an interesting experience. Last night was strange but fun in spite of the fact that Kurosaki's father was absolutely insane. He was confused at how his father would've ever been able to stand the man. He didn't think his father had a sense of humor for that matter and when when the older Morishitta showed him that picture, seeing a smile on his father's face was so alien and strange and the sight of his mother before she lost her health and her hair to the ravages of cancer.

He never knew his mother to be a healthy woman. She was diagnosed with breast cancer when he was three and was declared terminal when he turned five. She died a year later. He didn't know this woman. The woman he knew as "mother" was an ailing, but caring woman. She tried to be dignified but loving no matter how terrible she felt and there were some, terrible low days. One of his earliest memories of her is walking into the bathroom after following the strange sounds of what he now knows was his mother vomiting having gone through yet another round of chemotherapy. He vaguely remembered calling out her name asking if he could help in whatever way a concerned three year old could. Even as young as he was, he could tell mommy was sick and that she was only getting worse. He never got an answer because Ryuuken all but pushed him out of the room and foist him onto his grandfather.

The woman he saw in the picture was vibrant though pale, just like him. She had long black hair, she hadn't even bothered to tie into a ponytail. Her eyes were closed but she was laughing out loud nearly tipping over the funnel cake. Apparently, Kurosaki's mother had said something quite funny before the picture was taken though Morishitta couldn't remember what. After looking at the picture, Uryuu had to excuse himself from the room. After getting a hold of himself he came back to find Takeru clutching her godbrother's shoulder as if to keep him down. He had to admit. It was nice that Kurosaki was concerned at all to begin with, especially in situations like these. He made a mental note to thank Takeru for her consideration as well. Ichigo even asked if he was okay of course Uryuu unloaded some snark and they were at it again. Leaving Takeru and Kurosaki's sisters to stifle their laughter as they watched.

After dinner, the senior Kurosaki insisted the Uryuu come over for an early lunch/not quite breakfast. He actually called it that. Normal people would call it brunch but Uryuu couldn't remember the last time anything normal happened to him. After dinner, his godmother drove him home. Before she left, she hugged him again.

_"I'm glad you decided to call."_

Before he left his apartment, Chad had called him. Uryuu had to decline his usually silent friend's request to provide "new ears" to a new song he was writing. When he said he was going to Kurosaki's house, the Chad was silent for a long moment and asked "no really, what are you doing?" Uryuu supposed he walked right into that one but he explained the situation and rescheduled with Chad.

Arriving at the Kurosaki Clinic, Uryuu hesitated before he knocked on the door. He had a few questions for Mother Morishitta and most of them were about his mother. He figured that he couldn't stop now and he rang the door bell. He was greeted by Yuzu Kurosaki who greeted him politely. When he came in it seemed that Mother Morishitta had volunteered to cook and honestly, it smelled _glorious_.

"Hey there, Uryuu." She said cheerfully. He wasn't used to be called by his first name like that but he assumed it was habit for someone as western as she was. "Ichigo and Takeru are discussing things upstairs if you want to join them." She said. Uryuu had missed the second round of Hollows that night being dispatched quickly by Ichigo and once again Takeru. He supposed that she was explaining everything she told him yesterday.

"Actually, I had something to ask you." Uryuu said carefully approaching her.

"About your mom?" She asked like she was psychic. She turned to him grinning. Yuzu and Karin nodded to each other before leaving the room to give them a little privacy. Isshin remained on the couch uncharacteristically subdued. "Thought so. What do you want to know?"She asked returning to the eggs on the stove. Uryuu picked number one out of his list of questions.

"What...what was she like?" He asked. "Before she got sick?" Takari stopped for a moment and her smile took on a nostalgic flair before she continued cooking.

"When I first met her, she was a bitch." She laughed. Uryuu himself smiled a little. Sick or not, his mother was quite the Queen Bee. "She was every bit of a snob as you can imagine coming from a rich family. She was a legacy Quincy, you know." Remarkably, Uryuu was only shocked at that last part.

"Really?"

"Yep but I'd wager by now most of your relatives on her side are either dead or too old to continue the trade." As his shoulders fell, Uryuu noted how blunt his godmother was. He didn't mind though he didn't like to have things sugar coated. "When I first came to Karakura Town, I was on a mission to deal with Hollows crossing the barriers between space. I was about your age at the time. At first, Masaki, Your father, Isshin and I worked with her out of necessity. She was in our class, she was a decent fighter and saved our asses at least twice. She softened up eventually and she turned out to be a total doll, she was still pretty mean to your dad at first." She paused scraping off the scrambled eggs into a large serving plate. "You know that scar Ryuuken has on his back?" Uryuu nodded though he'd only seen it once that once strange day when Ryuuken wore a t-shirt for once in his life. "Well, he got that protecting your mother from a beast the Clerics call an Emanation, which is basically an ugly physical manifestation of a disruption in space. He got gored in the back really badly. In fact, he could've died if Aisuru hadn't carried him herself to the Seireitei. She hardly ever left his side and when he finally woke up she cried like a baby. It was really sweet and of course from then on Masaki was dead set on playing matchmaker and used every possible opportunity to get them to kiss. She eventually succeeded." She pointed to the memorial poster. He heard Isshin laugh from the couch. "She usually succeeded at everything she did." She added shaking her head good-naturedly before finishing up the meat and turning off the stove. "I'm going to see if I have a decent picture of her in my album when I go back home. I'll send it to you."

"Can you really send things from where you're from?" Uryuu asked trying not to act as excited as he felt.

"Of course. They can send people can't they?" She asked pointing to herself. "Now do me a favor and go get the kids so they can eat." She replied shooing him off before he could ask anymore questions. He figured one question was all he could take for now. He was still trying to process everything he'd just been told. Upstairs, he came to Karin and Yuzu Kurosaki's door first.

"Morishitta-san would like you to come down and eat." He said as politely as possible. The two girls thanked him and walked past. Coming to Ichigo's door, he could hear Ichigo and Takeru talking...well bickering is more like it. He had a feeling that Takari and Isshin argued too. He knocked.

"It's open." Ichigo called. Uryuu hesitantly opened the door. He didn't really know anyone besides Kurosaki who just let people freely into his room. He supposed with a family like his, he didn't have much of a choice. "Hey, Ishida."

"Yo." Takeru said with a mock salute. She seemed to be totally relaxed completely bereft of that polite facade she'd put on the day before. She returned to the conversation she was having with Ichigo. "So we're kind of like Spackle." She said. Ichigo crossed his arms scowling.

"Alright I get that but where the hell were you guys when we fought Aizen?" Ichigo bleated. Uryuu shoved up his glasses perturbed.

"No need to be so forward, Kurosaki." He chided. Knowing a little bit more about his mother, he could guess that he almost sounded just like her. Though he was really just irritated that Ichigo wasn't concerned with saving face.

"No, it's alright." Takeru said waving a hand at Ishida stopping Ichigo before he even got the first word of his snappy comeback out. "We were at war too. There was a huge conflict in the agency. Nearly split it right in half." She cleared her throat a little. Did she get a little teary eyed just then? "Now that the conflict is over, a lot of Judges like me have been sent around to do good will missions to help clean up any messes left behind, do some good old fashioned boot-licking "I'm sorry we screwed up" work. I'm due in the Sereitei sometime this week, probably tomorrow if the Captain Commander contacts me." She wasn't too thrilled about being a apart of the clean up crew.

"He contacts you himself? But I thought Captain Kuchiki took care of business like that." Uryuu said now slightly impressed with his new found relative. Takeru only scoffed.

"Please. Byakuya _wishes_ he could tell me what to do." She said more to herself than him. After telling them that they were wanted downstairs Takeru went ahead while Ichigo actually grabbed him for a moment indicating that he should hang back a bit.

"Hey about last night...are you...?"

"I'm fine, Kurosaki. Who do you think you're talking to?" Ishida said tossing a hand at him but he paused and smiled...just a little. "But...thank you for asking." Ichigo pretended like he didn't hear him. They preferred it that way.

Downstairs, Takeru, Karin and Yuzu and the parents were already helping themselves. Ichigo started loading up his plate and Uryuu picked around only getting bits and pieces. He didn't want to eat too much. That is until Takari cleared her throat. When he looked over to her, she stared him down with the glare of a thousand angry mothers.

"Fill your plate, Uryuu." Takeru whispered leaning close to him. "Just trust me on this. Fill the plate and if you can't eat it all, make it look like you ate most of it." Uryuu glanced at her incredulously. "I'm not kidding. She'll kill you." He turned back to Takari who was still pinning him to the wooden spoon with those scary green eyes of hers. For a second, he wondered if Takeru was actually being serious. He lopped an extra spoonful of eggs and continued to gather more food on his plate until Mother Morishitta's glare vanish after being bulldozed and replaced by her typical smile.

The meal wasn't as awkward as Uryuu expected it to be. That was more because Takeru was far more exuberant now that she wasn't trying to hide good manners. She even pinched Ichigo two or three times for chewing with his mouth open. Uryuu got a kick out of it while Ichigo tried to be offended but failed in the face of Yuzu and Karin's laughter. They weren't even half way through their meal when Ichigo's Combat Pass went off.

Uryuu, Takeru and Ichigo simultaneously stood from the table and excused themselves much to poor Yuzu's dismay. While Uryuu and Ichigo headed for the door, Takari grabbed her daughter's hand stopping her briefly. Takeru just frowned.

"Let me go, mom." She replied trying to sound conscientious and failing horribly. "I'll be fine." Takari's grip only tightened on her daughter's wrist when the girl's tone sharpened. Sensing conflict, Isshin placed a hand on Takari's shoulder smiling brightly all the while. He nodded at his long time friend. _Let her go._ And she did.

"Hey, guys! Wait for me!" Takeru called bolting for the door. Isshin looked back at Yuzu and Karin who took the hint and took their food upstairs. He turned back to Takari. He was still holding her wrist. Her eyes were glued to the food in front of her.

"We need to talk."

Karakura Park

"None of them are attacking." Uryuu said. "They're all just converging on this spot." He turned to Ichigo who was busy stashing his body. He left the house without even "They're coming from all over the city." Takeru closed her eyes.

"There's got to hundreds of them." She said trying to sense the exact number from the droves of Hollows coming toward them. She failed. "We might not be able to face them all with just the three of us. Any idea what they're coming here for?"

"Not a clue." Ichigo replied swinging Zangetsu over his shoulder. "But don't worry about the numbers." He said looking down the East path of the park.

"Kurosaki-kun! Ishida-kun!" Orihime and Chad came running in from the direction Ichigo indicated. Orihime had to catch her breath for a minute. Chad didn't.

"They haven't attacked yet?" Chad asked looking at the cloud of approaching hollows. Waiting was the worst part at least during battle you had some kind of objective.

"No, but they're coming at us as an alarming rate." Uryuu replied.

"Do you guys have any idea of what they could be looking for?" Takeru asked Orihime and Chad. They hadn't even noticed she was there. "Oh sorry, I'm Takeru...uh I mean Morishitta Takeru." The roar of the hollows came closer. "And we just ran out of time for conversation." The five got into and impromptu battle formation. A rain of arrows unleashed by Uryuu acted as a cover before they moved in to attack.

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

"El Directo!"

"I Reject!"

"Death Sentence!"

Those attacks alone subtracted the amount of Hollows by at least fifty. Uryuu and Ichigo, the fastest of the five, and went darting about slashing and firing at Hollows. Chad and Takeru fought with their strength. Chad actually let out a whistle of appreciation as Takeru grabbed a hollow's limb and threw it over her shoulder and onto the ground. Orihime provided defensive protection. It was a large group of enemies they couldn't keep an eye on every hollow all the time. The battle seemed to be going well.

"Red! Look out!" Orihime's line of sight went straight to Morishitta-san running towards her. Suddenly, she found herself at least twenty feet in the air hanging by the hood of her jacket. Eight other arms identical to the one holding her up sprout from the ground. But that doesn't surprise her, no. What really scares her is the ground breaking apart to reveal a pit lined with teeth like a mouth opening up to devour her. It was like the Kraken from the movie with the sexy pirate expect it was coming out of the ground and she was sure it wasn't going to take her to see Jack Sparrow. Being Orihime, she'd been through far too much to be scared of something like this, she screamed because it looked like a spider. She hated spiders. She tried to grab the arm behind her to keep from choking over her own collar but the thing was like ice and had no friction whatsoever. She could barely pull herself up but it didn't keep her from trying. Even as the giant mystery monster lowered her threateningly to it mouth. She vaguely heard Takeru yelling once more and Orihime spared a look down. The new girl was calling out battle plans. She wasn't worried.

Ichigo and Chad simultaneously used Getsuga Tensho and El Directo to break the arm holding her. They had to do it twice, shaking her violently enough to almost choke her but Uryuu grabbed her using Hirenkyaku and they landed on the ground. She gasped as the giant thing began to inhale and grind hollow's with it's massive teeth. Staring into the macabre blender, Orihime thought she was going to be sick.

"Are you alright?" Uryuu asked grabbing her by the shoulders obsessively looking her over for any injuries.

"I'm fine." She managed not to gag. She rubbed her neck where an angry red line was forming. Uryuu inspected it but found nothing was needed but some ice and antiseptic. Next thing Orihime knew, Sado-kun launched Morshitta-san into the air.

"Judgement! Sentence number 43! Electric Chair!" A blaze of electricity like the kido spell Raikoho, shot directly down into the monster. The creature let out a loud screech of pain and it's legs curled and sank back into the ground roaring. The roar was so different from a Hollow, it reiatsu was so alien and invasive. They were all left feeling cold and a bit disoriented.

That wasn't a hollow. No Espada or Arrancar had never devolved to an abomination like that. And as Chad caught the new girl and helped her to her feet, Ichigo crossed his arms and glared at his godsister.

"Okay. I'll ask it since everyone seems stunned to silence." He said striding up to her. "What the hell was that thing?"

Kurosaki Clinic

Right after Takeru left the house

The clock ticked away as Isshin and Takari sat in silence. Takari's eyes ere glued to the food she'd made. Her appetite was completely gone. She even felt a little sick. The memory of her son and daughter pitted together in a fight to the death would haunt her until she died. Yashin was her first child, two years older than Takeru though they were adopted near the same time. Takeru and Yashin were both incredibly gifted and feared children. Takari was the only person who could've ever been able to control them. When Yashin died, it was the greatest failure and heartbreak she'd ever experienced.

"It's been a year for you." Isshin said suddenly. She almost didn't hear him. "Since he died." Takari nodded shallowly. "How long have you been _sober_?" She glanced up at him, offended but with the way he frowned at her, she conceded.

"A month." She replied. Isshin let go of her hand. He'd never seen Takari so beaten down and ashamed. "I can't help but wonder what if I had noticed? What if I had stopped pushing?"

"It wouldn't have changed anything." Isshin replied trying to comfort her. "Yashin dug his own grave."

"Please don't say things like that." Takari said bending her head again. Isshin muttered an apology. "I didn't even get a chance to _bury_ him. The Agency destroyed his body and all of his belongings. It's like he never existed." She sighed. "I knew. I knew he was an ambitious and calculating boy but I didn't want to believe that he was capable of so much cruelty. If I hadn't heard the words from Takeru herself, I wouldn't have."

"I know she fought him but was she the one who killed him?" Isshin asked incredulously. Takari shook her head.

"No. She just managed to capture him but she knew he'd be put to death by the Agency. He laughed manically the entire time." Takari had been holding back this whole time but now she started losing her grip and was sobbing little by little. "My son's last words were "see you in hell"." For a moment, Isshin felt his dear friend's pain like a death blow to the heart. If Masaki were here, she would tell her that no matter what, she would have to move forward and cherish the one child she had left. Isshin wasn't so good with words. In the old days, he could cheer her up with a few jokes or some other campy display. This wasn't old times. They had aged. Loss had changed them, made them bitter. First her husband and now her son. Isshin took his friend and hugged her tightly.

There was a time where he, Takari, Ryuuken, Masaki, and Aisuru were a family. The memories came flooding back like they happened just the day before. On days where they were all forced to crash at Urahara's Shop after fighting hollows, Aisuru could be found doing her hair while bickering with Takari and Masaki over just who killed the most hollows because Qunicies are automatically superior. Ryuuken and Isshin would be smoking arguing over what radio station to leave it on. Eventually Urahara would come and tell them that if they are going to stay here all day that they should go buy some food and start cooking because feeding five danger prone teenagers gets expensive. Suddenly all the arguing and bickering would stop and they would rush out making lists and pooling together their money.

But the memory was promptly tarnished with loss and sadness. Isshin and Ryuuken hardly ever spoke anymore. Ryuuken actually told Takari to stay away from him and Uryuu in a desperate attempt to shut off his son from the Quincy line. Though he failed, Takari hadn't spoken to Ryuuken since Aisuru's fumeral. Aisuru loved her hair but it was all lost when she started chemotherapy. It was made even more painful by the memory of Takari cutting Aisuru's hair while Masaki attempted to comfort her nearly hysterical friend. The last words Masaki and Ryuuken shared were words of anger. Ryuuken would never admit it but he cried at her funeral as if he were mourning his own sister. Sometimes, Isshin found flowers on Masaki's grave that neither him, Yuzu, Karin or Ichigo had left. Isshin held Takari at arm's length as she wiped her tears with her sleeve.

"Takeru is not like Yashin." He said clearly. "Shadowing her is not going make her safer. It's only going to make her angrier." He smiled a little. "She's her mother's daughter, after all." He finally coaxed a smile out of Takari.

"How do you do it?" She asked with a defeated sighed. "It gets harder and harder knowing that everything they take on will just get more dangerous with each task given to them. How do you stand aside and let Ichigo do the very same life-threatening work we did? " She looked at him, brow furrowed.

"Sometimes it damn near kills me inside." Isshin confessed. "But I know that if I don't stand aside and let Ichigo do what he's meant to do...really it's like he's _born_ for it...then his life will be empty and unfulfilled. To me, living an empty life is a fate worse than death. I would never wish that on my son. I only get involved if I'm _absolutely_ needed." He briefly thought back to the battle with Aizen and shook the chill off. "But at this point, all I can do, is greet him when I come home and do whatever I can to let him know that I'm watching."

"Including assaulting him whenever you see him?" Takari asked with a smirk.

"Hey! It keeps his reflexes up!" Isshin replied falsely offended. Takari laughed a little and Isshin sighed in relief, glad that he could comfort her. He glanced briefly up at Masaki's picture. _Yeah, I think she'll be okay too._

"Only when I'm absolutely needed huh?" She asked. Isshin nodded. "I...I think...I think I can do that."

Urahara's Shop

"Where's Morishitta?" Chad asked as Ichigo strode into the room.

"She talking to her boss it sounds like. She doesn't sound happy." Ichigo replied sitting down. "She wasn't on a fighting kind of mission. I don't think she was told that one of those monsters would show up."

"An Emanation sounds incredibly dangerous...thankfully they don't travel in packs like Hollows..." Ishida said from where he was blotting rubbing alcohol where Orihime's collar had burned her neck.

"It burns..." Orihime said pouting. The adrenaline hadn't quite stopped pumping for her and staying still had become increasingly difficult.

"I know. I'm sorry." Ishida said. Orihime blushed. She hadn't meant to say that out loud. She observed Uryuu for a minute. This gave her a chance to ponder on something that had been bothering her since last Christmas. Over the years and adventures, they'd grown much closer. Uryuu told her things that he'd never told Chad or Ichigo. _Especially_ not Ichigo. She could very well say that she was his best friend. Not that Ichigo, Rukia or Chad weren't close to him but she was the only one who knew Ishida-kun's secret. This made her very scared for him. He was the oddball among them. Everyone knew everything about each other but no one knew anything about Ishida-kun.

"Um, Ishida-kun..." She said in small voice. Uryuu stopped and gave her his full attention. "Are you..." She never got a chance to finish her question.

"Well that was a bust." Morishitta said coming in. Orihime almost flinched when She turned to her, the girl still seemed pretty angry until it gave way to a rueful sigh. "I'm really sorry about this Inoue-san. If I'd turned around a second sooner, you wouldn't have gotten caught up. I'm the one who's trained in fighting these monsters but the power limiter I have on kept me from sensing it in time." She showed her the bracelet she was wearing. "I'm really sorry."

"No, it's no problem." Orihime said with a smile. She'd really forgotten about it by now. "I've had worse." She insisted. Takeru just smiled.

"I bet, most people wouldn't look into the mouth of something trying to eat them and not be traumatized." She said with an appreciative smile.

"What'd your boss say?" Ichigo asked was Takeru sat down.

"Nothing helpful." She replied bitterly. "But they insist that there's been no activity rather than a few disturbances left by Aizen and Tsukush..." Chad cleared his throat and shook his head at Takeru who stumbled over her words for a minute. "Long story short, they think that I've mistaken a large Hollows for an Emanation which is impossible. So basically they're telling me that they can't or won;t help me. Whatever happens, I guess I'll just take it up with mom or the Gotei 13." She sighed.

"Do you need our help?" Ichigo asked, unwilling to let his godsister and his friends in the Gotei 13 face something like that without help but Takeru frowned.

"At this point, I'm not sure. I'd feel like shit if something happened to one of you on my watch. I already feel bad enough about Inoue-san's carpet burn." She said.

"Well, at this point, you all may not have a choice." Uryuu saw everyone's especially Ichigo's face brighten up considerably before they all turned to see Rukia Kuchiki in gigai wearing a dress she'd practically begged Ishida to make for her. At first he insisted that he "didn't make clothes for Shinigami", but she showed him the pattern for the dress and he couldn't resist like a moth to flame. She wore it almost every time she came to the living world. Uryuu decided that he didn't mind making clothes for Kuchiki-san.

"Rukia!" Ichigo said trying not to sound too excited to see her. She was one of his closest friends and he hardly got to see her anymore. It would take extensive torture to get him to admit it verbally. Rukia sighed but smirked all the same.

"Ichigo, how is it that a headstrong idiot like you gets involved in every single thing the Sereitei does?" She asked. Ichigo sighed with false exasperation and leaned against the wall.

"What? It's not like I ask for it." He replied with a grunt. "What're you doing here, anyway?"

"She's my escort." Takeru said getting to her feet. She greeted Rukia with a rather rigid and awkward bow. "Nice to meet you finally meet you formally Kuchiki-san." She said.

"Same. Renji's told me a lot about you since we last met."

"Good things?" Takeru asked sardonically. Rukia laughed nervously but shook her head. Takeru just chuckled. "Yeah, I didn't think so. I thought I wasn't supposed to arrive at the Soul Society until tomorrow." Rukia shifted weight and suddenly became very serious. Chad swallowed in spite of himself. He knew that look. It was never good.

"I've been sent here to tell everyone here that the Captain Commander requests everyone's presence. In this case, requested mean demanded. We're going to need all the help we can get."

_I'm a bit rusty when it comes to fight scenes. I hope over time that I will get better but this story is more about the relationships between the characters than the action. Things will get deeper and darker from here on out. I hinted a lot of things in this chapter I hope you caught all of them. The next chapter will most likely start with Rukia or Renji. There will be a Canon/Oc relationship in this fanfiction but it will take a backseat to the couples of canon characters. There will be mentions of yuri but more yaoi considering what the main pairing will be. There will be heterosexual pairings. This is not a slash only story. Right now, I'm only certain of a few couples but I'll leave you to guess who those couples will be until I list them all for you. I'm glad you took the time to read this I would love it if you reviewed my work. I work hard on these chapters and I would love some input. I love you all for reading, please review._

_With love,_

_East_


	4. Putting Eyeliner on a Gigai

_Not much to say here, still building up the story. I hope you enjoy, we'll be headed back to the Sereitei after this. I may have a complete couple listing set up by next chapter. _

Putting Eyeliner On a Gigai

From the Point of View of one Rukia Kuchiki

Rukia had seen some pretty gruesome things but she couldn't remember this much carnage. Especially as a cadet. So she supposed she could give a few of the cadets a break for vomiting even if Kiyone-san was being less than charitable herself. She found herself comforting a young girl named Ame who like everyone else was covered in Hollow remains. The poor girl was absolutely hysterical. She made a mental note to check if some of these kids were going to get psychologically evaluated for this. You know it was bad when even Eleventh Division members were puking their guts out at the sight. She had to admit, watching this giant bulbous monster grind hollows then having said ground up hollow guts splash all over you when the thing was sliced in the stomach was a little much for the young ones to endure. Even if they were just back up. It wasn't so much as traumatizing as it was just disgusting.

Naturally the Eleventh Division got the worst of it was they just dove in without hesitation. Captain Zaraki seemed proud of himself having sliced the thing in half. Not that he really had a choice in the matter or it would've eaten half of his subordinates. Rukia would like to think that if he had a choice, Zaraki would choose to spare the poor cadets from something like this. She hoped. Ikkaku didn't seem to care with his sandals squelching with every step, she couldn't help but wince. Yachiru was the only one who got out of this without a drop of blood. Zaraki just held the girl by her sleeve before she considered going to eat any of the "gummy-looking candy". Now that would be a vomit inducing sight if there ever was one. Gross. Rukia felt a little bad for Ayasegawa. With how obsessed he was with appearances, she thought he'd be freaking out. Yet he was decidedly calm and cool chatting with the others while poking fun at a nauseous cadet. She noticed though, that he would let anyone, even Ikkaku touch him. It was a wonder he could fight at all with such a large burn on his hand but she supposed nothing but death could keep a high ranking officer of the Eleventh Squad from fight. He glared at her when he realized she was staring.

She prayed to whoever would listen that this was the last one of those Hollow-eaters that showed up today. That would make three total in one day. She was a little frustrated. Where had these things come from? She and a few others had vacation time coming up in the Living World. At this point she could kiss and semblance of extended relaxation good bye. Rangiku-san would _not_ be happy.

Believe it or not, everyone had to submit a request to bathe before reporting back to their Divisions. Of course Ukitake didn't have a problem with it but Zaraki almost said no but a smile from Yumichika and a rather high pitched "pleeeeease?" got him to say yes. Rukia always wondered if Zaraki just liked Ayasegawa that much or if he just wanted him to go away. Either way, they were all going to get clean.

"Neee...those brutes in the Eleventh Division..." Kiyone muttered as she submerged herself in the steaming water with a long sigh.

"What do you have against the Eleventh Division, Kotetsu-senpai?" Rukia asked still washing her hair. Kiyone sighed and shook her head.

"Honestly, it's nothing personal, really." She replied. "I just don't understand them. Everything they stand for goes against my aesthetics," Kiyone-senpai has been spending too much time around Unohana and Isane. "Thirteenth Squad is founded on the principal of assisting your fellow Shinigami, but Eleventh..." She sputtered as if the very thought made her angry to the point she forgot to speak. "...it's..."

"They just have different definitions of friendship." Rukia insisted. She'd grown to develop a liking for Renji Eleventh Squad buddies plus that hand cream Ayasegawa had given her had been working wonders on the scars on her hands. Kiyone still didn't seem convinced. Perhaps she should tell Kotetsu-san about the time Captain Zaraki nearly murdered a subordinate for trying to proposition Isane in mid-healing. Zaraki allowed a lot of things but disrespect for women was certainly not one of them. Rukia instantly felt sorry for any man who'd want to marry Yachiru-chan.

"I _understand_ that it's different Kuchiki-san." Kiyone said levelly. "I just don't get the philosophy itself." Rukia could see why Zaraki's philosophy bothered Kiyone. Her life's work was taking care of and helping out her captain. According to the Eleventh Division, she would've left her captain behind the first time she saw him collapse. Rukia sighed and decided to drop the subject.

"Do you think Ame-chan will put in for a transfer after this?"

"With the way she looked up at Ukitake? Not a chance." Rukia chuckled. It was true. Ame was completely inconsolable until the very second the captain laid a hand on her shoulder she was instantly calm and reassured.

With her bath done, Rukia found herself with her two lieutenants, Rangiku-san, Renji, Ayasegawa and Madarame. All of them had been directly involved in at least one of the three "Hollow-Eater" sightings with their captains. Matsumoto and Renji had fallen asleep whining about being up since four in the morning. Her lieutenants had left for a moment, she didn't know why. If Madarame and Ayasegawa weren't all the way on the other side of the room, she would go over there and talk to them. They seemed to be having a good time all by themselves anyway. Ikkaku always had such a dark grimace painted on his face but talking with Yumichika she could see both ends of that scowl tilt upwards.

Those two were so _married_. Whether they were a true couple or not. Rukia leaned her head back and let her eyes slide shut for a minute. She'd been waiting on her captain for over two hours now. She didn't cope well with boredom at least in the Living World something interesting was always happening whether it be school or Ichigo's father rocketing out of window with a flying drop kick. When she had a moment to herself, she realized that she could hear what Madarame and Ayasegawa were saying. Eavesdropping was rude, of course but they were talking rather loudly. She was under the impression that they didn't really care if anyone heard. They rarely did.

"...I have no problem being covered in blood, Ikkaku. In fact, I consider it beautiful and a job well done. What I don't think is being covered in Hollow-Eater _vomit_." Ayasegawa quipped crossly.

"I've never heard you make a sound like that, Yumi. And I've heard all of your sounds." Ikkaku said with a low chuckle. What the hell did _that_ mean?

"Well I've never been thrown up on before." Yumichika replied.

"By anyone but Yachiru." Ikkaku corrected.

"Yachiru's different." Rukia actually remembered that...poor little girl had _for once_ eaten far too much. When Yumichika arrived to collect her from Byakuya's futon, she puked all over him. Yumichika was surprisingly forgiving and asked if Rukia if she had a change of clothes by any chance. He gave a bottle of that miracle hand cream he used in exchange. "Stop picking on me will you? At least no cadets tried to play dead to stay out the fight like last year."

"Yeah, I'd say you have quite an influence on Fura." Ikkaku said. She could hear the smirk in her voice. Yumichika cackled.

"I have to say, I expected the boy to try and kill me instead of bow." Yumichika. "Either way would've been good." The two spent a moment in contented, amused silence. "Do you remember the promise we made when we started out?" Ikkaku scoffed.

"The fuck, Yumi? 'Course I do. Shit, you bring up the weirdest stuff." There was a moment of silence and Madarame grunted. "I fully intend to keep it. God! You think I'm just gonna kill over or something and die like a fuck coward?" Rukia didn't miss the wounded undertone in Ikkaku's voice.

"No. I'm just making sure you remember." Yumichika replied apologetically.

"Well, I'm not gonna forget something like that." Ikkaku replied softer than normal. He accepted the apology. Those two were so _married_.

When the door leading to the captain commander's door finally opened, Rukia elbowed Renji hard in the ribs. She found out a long time ago that shaking had little to no effect on a sleeping Renji. Renji bolted up.

"What the hell, Ru-" Byakuya, having just entered the atrium with Captains Hitsugaya and Zaraki, cleared his throat. Renji immediately got to his feet. Matsumoto remained unmoved.

"Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya snapped. Matsumoto's eyes fluttered open and she smiled and stretched.

"Oh! Captain!" She said letting the embarrassment that Renji was now suffering under roll off of her back like a duck. Rukia had to admit that she envied Rangiku-san's grace...if it could even be called that. "How'd the report go?" The frustrated grimace on Hitsugaya's face screamed "not well, no thanks to you" but she never got a verbal answer. Rukia didn't move when all three captains turned to face her, but the attention made her just a bit nervous. She could cope with Byakuya's gaze and Hitsugaya but Zaraki was much more bearable with Yachiru on his shoulder without she found it a bit difficult to cope with his harsh gaze.

"You're needed in the Living World." Byakuya's information was curt, concise and to the point, just like she liked it. "You are to gather Kurosaki Ichigo, Inoue Orihime, Yatsora Sado and Ishida Uryuu." For some reason, Rukia wasn't surprised but she needed to know why. Byakuya answered her before she could ask. He could always catch Rukia's non-verbal cues. They were the same as Hisana's. "We found this." As if on cue, Hitsugaya handed her a pellet of Quincy Hollow Bait. The room tensed as everyone exchanged glances. "Do not worry Ishida Uryuu is not under suspicion. According to the Department of Research and Development, this is a completely different chemical make up. There have been reports of Hollow-Eaters." He sighed. It was extremely obvious that he was about to say something he didn't even want to hear with his own ears. "The Shinigami stationed in the Living World are not strong enough to fill the empty positions left by Ichimaru, Aizen, Tousen and Hinamori. This situation is far more severe than expected. The Hollow-Eaters are Emanations."

Byakuya's last word froze the entire room with a quick jolt of terror.

"What?" Rukia's brain vaguely registered that as Renji's voice. "So does that mean..."

"Yes. A cleric is on her way and waiting for clearance." Byakuya replied. He turned to leave with Hitsugaya and Zaraki left with his boys and and daughter. Renji was left sputtering.

"W-wait! Captain!" Byakuya stopped but didn't respond verbally. "When you say cleric, do you mean..."

"Yes. Takeru Morishitta will be here within twenty-four hours." The faintest of smirks crossed Byakuya's face. The name was vaguely familiar to Rukia. "Be prepared to leave as soon as possible, Rukia." A dark, horrified expression crossed Renji's face like he'd looked into the eyes of the devil himself. She could've sworn he was shaking. Seconds later, Matsumoto and Rukia found that Renji was shaking in something akin to frustration. She was about to make some sort of snide jab at him when Matsumoto let out a sigh that sounded more like a small sob.

"He said...that one of them will be replacing Hinamori..." Matsumoto muttered more to herself than anyone else. "So...she's really not coming back, is she?" Rukia stopped for a moment, confused.

"Wouldn't you and Captain Hitsugaya be the first to know?" Rukia asked. Matsumoto shrugged, she too seemed pretty preoccupied.

"Captain doesn't tell me _anything_ anymore." For a minute, Rangiku's eyes burned with disappointment. They both needed a change of subject. Luckily, one was moping right beside them. "Renji you look so pale~" Rangiku-san teased. Renji made a low, guttural noise in the back of his throat straining his vocal chords.

"Aww, do Clerics scare Renji-chan that much?" Rukia asked in a faux high pitched baroness laugh. Naturally, Renji was outraged. It was far too easy to get him relied up sometimes. Sometimes it was a hindrance, today it was freaking _hilarious_.

"What?" Renji's voice should ever be allowed to go that high.

"Afraid of a little Court Judge, are we?" Matsumoto poked with a smirk so feline in nature she might as well have had ears and a tail. "Don't worry, Renji we'll protect you~" She sang sweetly.

"I'm not afraid of her!" Renji snapped striding ahead of them only getting a flurry of girlish giggling in response. "She's just a bratty little half-pint that crawled from the fiery depths of Satan's Anus!" The giggles went into full blown laughter. "She's fucking _evil_!" Renji argued feebly. Rukia didn't know much about Morishitta other than the fact that she was, in fact, a mouthy kid who wielded sarcasm like a zanpakuto. Honestly, she wasn't that bad and Byakuya actually seemed _amused _when he mentioned her name.

Matsumoto assisted Rukia in preparing for her trip and insisted on getting her gigai dolled up. Which prompted this question from Ichigo:

"The hell...? Are you wearing make up?"

"Weren't you listening?" Rukia bleated planting the heel of her foot against the side of Ichigo's head. "I said the Sereitei needs you. Don't you care?"

"You never wear make up!" Ichigo replied seemingly on the verge of laughter.

"I always put eyeliner on my gigai!" Rukia insisted veins popping from her head. No one said anything, they just smiled. It was just Ichigo and Rukia's way of showing how much they missed each other over these past few months. "Did you lose a few brain cells since the last time I saw you?"

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo's voice when to an octave no teenage boy should ever be capable off. Orihime had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud, Takeru wasn't so reserved. "Listen Queen Midget I-"

"You look nice, Kuchiki-san." Uryuu said suddenly with a light nod stopping the argument like a skidding truck. Rukia grinned.

"Thank you, Ishida-kun. It's nice to see you too." She said sticking her tongue out at Ichigo who didn't miss that "Quincy Archer beats Queen Midget" smirk Uryuu was wearing. Ishida was happy to have Rukia back too. Chad cleared his throat that was all Rukia needed to get back to the matter at hand. "Right. Before you all report to the Sereitei, I need you to take me to the scene of the Hollow-Eater attack."

"There's no need." No one knew quite how long Urahara had been standing at the door. One look at that mysterious smirk and they found it best not to ask. He held out a hand giving Showing Rukia the piece of Hollow Bait found at the scene. Before Ichigo could even turn to glare at Uryuu, the latter piped up in his own defense though he never got more than two words out.

"That's not..."

"Relax, Ishida-san." Urhara said coolly. Ishida made a face at the "san" hooked onto the end of his name. Urahara knew it bothered him, it was all the reason he needed to tease him with it. "This isn't yours. But who's ever it is, is certainly a Quincy fan." He said with his fan over his face.

"How can you tell it's different?" Orihime asked. She'd seen the Hollow Bait before...it looked just like Ishida-kun's but Urahara certainly learned a lesson about lying to their faces before...right?

"Ishida-san puts his initials on his." All eyes turned to Ishida again who turned a light shade of pink and turned away in embarrassment while everyone wondered exactly _how_ he got is initials on something so small. Rukia chuckled under her breath. All that work from Squad Twelve went to waste with just one sentence.

"Well, Kuchiki-san..." Urahara lifted her hand and placed the bait in her hand. "I place this in your capable hands." That grin under the fan still made her suspicious. Whether it be an innocent prank or looking for a scapegoat, Urahara Kisuke was up to something. The former captain stopped right before he left the room. "Oh, Takeru-chan."

"What?" Kisuke chuckled before her answer. She sounded _so much_ like her mother just then.

"They didn't tell you, did they? When they sent you here?" Takeru only looked down at the phone in her hand.

"No."

"I didn't think so." And with that Urahara left the room leaving an odd chill over the young people he left to ponder on what just happened. Takeru shoved the phone in her pocket.

"Kuchiki-san, will I be able to meet with the Captain Commander once we reach the Sereitei?" She asked looking like she wanted to smash something rather than act rationally. Ichigo made sure to stand out of striking range, just in case.

"Everyone will."

"Privately?" The weight of her request hit Rukia in the chest like a bullet. Something was seriously wrong.

"Something can be arranged." She replied not taking her eyes off of the girl.

"What's going on, Takeru?" Ichigo asked. His godsister's shouldered sagged as she shook her head. She glanced at all of the people she met today and then to Ichigo wearing an expression of confusion hat he'd never seen before.

"I...I don't know."

_Tension! And the story continues! I'd love feedback my friend so please revwie. I appreciate and love all of your Story Alerts and Favorites, but I can't tell what you like about my story if you don't tell me, so I can have more of it! As always, I love you readers and hope to see that you've read my upcoming chapters._

_With Love,_

_East_


	5. Putting Former Ryoka in Charge

_Well, here we go onward to the next chapter. The plot thickens. This chapter is shorter because I had less time to work with but that's because my cousin got married this week and I was maid of honor. Not much to say just that I should be on a tighter update schedule from now on, no more Thursday updates. _

Putting Former Ryoka in Charge:

The Irony is palpable...

"I'll be _fine_."

Ichigo decided he was tired of hearing those three words. Daibo-chan was more than simply protective of her daughter. The woman didn't even want to let Takeru out of her sight while the latter couldn't wait to get away from her. He wondered if overhearing from his room counted as eavesdropping.

"I don't want you involved in something you can't handle." Takari said tersely under her breath. She got the feeling that everyone could hear them even though they pretended not to.

"What makes you think I can't handle it?" Takeru inquired lowly. "I've been psychologically cleared, I've done much bigger missions than this, I've got this." Her insisting did nothing to budge Takari's burning silence. "Mom, let go. Please." The slight tremor in her voice indicated that she was dangerously close to exploding at her mother. Ichigo figured the only thing keeping her from doing it was the fact that they were in someone else's house. A moment of silence and an audible sigh later, Ichigo heard footsteps headed toward his room. Takeru entered without knocking.

"Wanna talk about it?" Ichigo asked standing off of his bed.

"Not particularly." Takeru answered more hurt than angry. "We have business to take care of." She added pinning up her hair into something more manageable. "How did you get involved in the Gotei 13 anyway?" She asked giving herself a once over in the mirror Ayasegawa left in his room a while back. The Shinigami never came back and got it but Ichigo didn't throw it away, just in case he ever did. Grabbing Kon, who had actually restrained himself from snuggling Takeru stating she was "scary", he dove his hand into the stuffed animals mouth.

"Don't molest anymore young girls while I'm away." He said with a glared to his mod-soul occupied body.

"You have a lot of issues with women, don't you?" Takeru asked as they head to Ichigo's window. As expected, Ichigo didn't answer. Ichigo looked down for a minute seeing Karin outside nursing they dying plant that she and Yuzu were struggling to keep from languishing. "Oi Karin! You're on Kon duty!" He yelled. She didn't answer or even turn to face him. She just lifted a hand. Ichigo smiled. The regular hand wave was Karin-speak for "come back safe". Looking back at Takeru he said, "Let's go."

With both using their flash steps, Ichigo and Takeru made it to the river within seconds.

"The Shinigami flash step is called a Shunpo, right?" She asked.

"Yeah...does yours have a name?"

"Dhvana." Takeru replied. She looked around. "No one's here yet." She stated rubbing the back of her neck as an awkward silence settled over the two for the first time ever. Ichigo found himself looking down at the ground.

"Dad told us about Yashin." He said quietly. He didn't need to look up at her to know that she turned her back to look back at the river. "I'm sorry. When mom died I..."

"Don't Ichigo." She pleaded hollowly. "Please don't." She folded her arms over her chest and sighed mournfully. "One day I'll be able to tell you...just...not now."

"Can I ask you at least one question?" Ichigo asked hesitantly. He took her non-committal grunt as a yes. "The conflict in the...what do you call it?...Agency. He was involved wasn't he?" He asked. She turned to him, once bright violet eyes dulled to a rusty indigo.

"He caused it."

"Kurosaki-kun! Morishitta-san!" Orihime could be seen with Uryuu, Chad and Rukia. Rukia had stayed with Orihime last night. With Tatsuki so busy, either Ichigo, Chad or Uryuu walked Orihime home sometimes late at night if there was a particularly powerful hollow. Uryuu even occasionally stayed over leaving either in the morning or late at night if he fell asleep. Still, Orihime's neighbors were mostly gossipy old fashioned women. While it was good for Orihime's safety, Uryuu was the first to notice the horrible things they were whispering about her. Apparently a young girl, especially one as buxom and beautiful as Orihime, shouldn't be inviting young men into her apartment. Before catching up with Ichigo and Takeru, Rukia smiled at the memory of Ishida giving one of the women a piece of his well-cultured mind when Inoue went inside.

_"Excuse me, ma'am." He said striding up to the nosy old woman before going home. "I realize that your life is so dreary that you must dip your nose into the business of a teenage girl. However, as one of her closest friends, I'm here to inform you that Inoue-san is one of the sweetest people I know and has done _nothing_ to deserve judgment from the court that you must keep somewhere in this small garden of tomatoes, I'm sure. Please save your reproach for someone who deserves it. Thank you."_

One day, Rukia would tell Orihime about it but not now. There was a special bond between the two. For all of her fawning over Ichigo, Orihime and Uryuu were easily the closest. If Ishida wasn't...well, Ishida...they would've gotten romantic by now. Rukia always wondered about him...no one seemed to know anything about him. Except for Orihime that is. She figured the next time they got some free time, she would ask the question that had been bothering her since she met him.

"Is that your uniform, Morishitta-san?" Ishida asked unable to hide his admiration for yet another set of handmade clothes she just seemed to have on hand. Takeru smiled a little in response.

"Simply put, yes." She said. "Most of the Cleric wear matching uniforms, but I'm a high-ranking Judge so we get to customize a little." Her the top of her uniform was sleeveless but reached the ground like a form-fitting nun's habit. At first glance, it seemed that she was wearing all black but her top was actually just a very deep green. Through the opening starting at her waist, he could see a studded belt, very fitted pants and boots with a heel that couldn't be over more than an inch or so. With those fingerless gloves, she was fitted for battle and free range motion. With her hands out, he noticed that she was only wearing one bracelet.

"You've taken off two of your bracelets." He hadn't quite meant to say that out loud...but it was out there. Takeru didn't seem to mind answering.

"Yeah, my power limiters."

"What does that mean for you , exactly?" Takeru just smiled.

"It means I get to wield a weapon and use my other abilities as opposed to replying on Sentences. Which is basically Kido." She chuckled a little. "It's

"Guys." Chad said pointing upwards getting everyone's attention. With a faint ring, the Hell Butterfly fluttered around the group. With the sharp rise of reiatsu. Uryuu felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up when the Senkaimon opened as always. He could never quite get used to it.

"Let's go." Everyone in the group let Rukia lead them into the Precipice World. It was difficult to shake the memory of running frantically from The Cleaner. Orihime stated that one day they would all find that funny. That day hadn't come yet.

"So what's the old man want with us exactly?" Ichigo asked.

"Would it kill you to have a little respect? Rukia bleated before actually explaining. "The Captain Commander needs to fill the empty positions left by The Traitors and Hinamori-san."

"What? You guys haven't done that yet?" Ichigo complained.

"There were a few taking the captain exam, but with these Hollow-Eaters popping up everywhere, action needs to be taken now. Since all of you have taken on powerful Espada and won, I think that's a good enough description of your strength." The last part was said with a bit of sarcasm.

"So I'll be working for Shinigami?" Uryuu said contemptuously.

"Shinigami will be working for _you._" Chad corrected laconically. Only Ichigo caught the absolutely _evil_ grin that crossed Uryuu's face.

There was no time for meet and greet when they arrived at the Soul Society. Rukia rushed them to join the Captain's meeting.

"What?" Ichigo cried. "You didn't say we were going to be captains!" Uryu didn't seem to mind.

"Not captains, per say." Ukitake, who met them as the gate, insisted. "But you will have positions of authority. There were four more Hollow-Eater sightings today. This time with casualties." Takeru made an angry noise in the back of her throat. She didn't like being kept in the dark. She was certain that her superiors had kept information from her. Last time they did that, they had officially declared her brother a suspect in the slaughtering of all those trainees. She had to admit walking into a Captain's meeting was just a bit intimidating not that anyone would ever know that. She had a feeling Ichigo and his friends felt the same way.

"You're late." Yamamoto said. As harsh as his admonition sounded, Uryuu knew that there was no real anger behind his voice.

"So what're we doing here, Old...oof!" Uryuu elbowed Kurosaki in the chest before he could finish his sentence.

"High Court Judge Morishitta Takeru." Yamamoto said unfazed by Ichigo's general lack of respect. Takeru bowed before she spoke.

"At your service, sir."

"You've grown quite tall." Uryuu could've sworn he detected a sense of warmth in the Old Man's voice. "Please take your place as Acting Captain of Third Division."

"Sir?" Takeru was just as shocked as Ichigo to hear this.

"Yours and your mother's reputation and your high rank is enough to tell me exactly what you're capable of. You know the most about these beasts. You will be of greatest use to us in a Captain's position. Your primary objective is to find "who is controlling these creatures." He held out a hand to the place the late Gin Ichimaru stood. In a way, Takeru was much like him. While she was not not particularly mischievous but she and Ichimaru were far too acquainted with violence at an early age.

"Why the Third Division?" Takeru asked with asking permission to speak freely. Uryuu spotted Unohana's frown.

"I believe your philosophy of battle will coincide theirs."

"What philosophy would that be?" Uryuu asked looking briefly at his godsister.

"Despair." Takeru replied gravely before taking the spot that was given to her. Uryuu and Ichigo stood variably shocked. Until yesterday, Ichigo always thought that his godsister and godmother were normal, laid back women from America. Now, he was learning that they were super powered priests. It was safe to assume that all the stories that Daibo-chan told them were all true. His father and mother fought with Takari-bochan. What powers did his mother have? He wished he'd asked like Ishida before they left.

"Ishida Uryuu." The Old Man was _still _talking?

"Yes sir?"

"In an operation such as this, reconnaissance is of the utmost importance. The Captain of Squad Two Sui Feng has agreed to work in junction with the lieutenant of Squad Nine, Hisagi Shuuhei to collect information. Your speed and powers of observation would be at best use working closely for both of them." Uryuu was on the verge of bragging. Ichigo saw the smirk.

"Be a little more down to earth would you?" Ichigo teased quietly. Uryuu elbowed him again before accepting Yamamoto's proposition and taking the spot where Captain Tousen once stood. Ichigo had to admit with that new cape-less rendition of his Quincy uniform, Uryuu looked made for authority. He didn't need to give Ishida a reason to boast. So he made sure to keep his mouth shut about for now.

"Inoue Orihime."

"Sir!" Quirky Orihime saluted as if she were in the military. Everyone couldn't help but smile. Ukitake even saw traces of a smirk on Byakuya's face.

"Captain Unohana has specially requested your presence in the Fourth Division. Do you accept?" Unohana smiled and for once it wasn't completely terrifying. Orihime immediately accepted and stood next to Unohana.

"Yatsora Sado and Substitute Shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo. With Squad Five having no clear leadership, you will be working closely with the remaining squads to protect not only the Soul Society. You'll be in charge of what was formerly Squad Five." Tremor of shock went through Ichigo. Aizen's Squad?

"Can't Hinamori-san do that?" Ichigo asked before he even bothered to think about what he was saying.

"We have lost contact with Lieutenant Hinamori. As far as we are concerned, she has officially renounced her position in the Gotei 13." No one dared to look at Captain Hitsugaya's face. "If you object to this..."

"I don't." Chad replied forgetting his manners for a moment. "I can speak for Ichigo but I accept. I want to help in any way I can." Just because Chad was the quiet didn't mean that all of these people weren't his friends too. He had a duty to them and as such, he'd do anything to protect them. He didn't care if these people once worked under Aizen. But he knew that it was different for Ichigo. They had all made incredible sacrifices but for Ichigo fighting and defeating Aizen haunted him and everything he did. It wasn't exactly a secret that Ichigo still had nightmares. Uryuu had told them in confidence citing that he could just "tell" when Ichigo wasn't getting enough sleep. Aizen may not have died but there was a piece of Ichigo was locked up along side him. The entire room went still. Yamamoto wasn't going to let Ichigo leave this room without making a decision.

"What is your decision, Kurosaki Ichigo?"

_Yep. I'm leaving it there. Sorry I couldn't resist. As usual I love the reading please review etc, etc. Expect some odd team ups in the chapters to come but they will be awesome. I love you readers, you keep this story alive. A special shout out to Haddrell my most loyal reviewer. Thank you, dear. Expect the next chapter next Tuesday as always._

_With love,_

_East_


	6. Repression

_So this chapter is a bit longer than I originally expected but whatever. This is a bit of filler for you in the beginning but I like how this chapter turned out. This chapter has a lot of r-rated mentions in it but nothing too much. I finally have an official couples listing and they are as follows:_

Ichigo/Uryuu

Ikkaku/Yumichika _Onesided if you haven't already noticed_

Renji/Yumichika _ As friends with benefits_

Renji/Byakuya _Onesided or not?_

Chad/OC _Couldn't help it_

Rukia/Orihime _Possibly? Maybe if I got some feedback on it?_

That's all I can give you without spoiling anything. But I'd like a bot if feedback on the couples since this piece also has a lot to do with sexual identity as well.

Repression:

A week later

It would take Kuchiki Byakuya years to admit that he was impressed with Yatsora's ability to command and his solid understanding of military strategy. Renji tried his absolute hardest not to mention it but really Captain Kuchiki and Sado were a lot alike. They were both men that commanded a certain kind of respect. Byakuya for his position and Sado for his height and appearance. Byakuya didn't offer much explanation on how Ichigo came to his decision just he'd he'd "never heard such a stillness". Regardless, gaining the respect of what was left of Squad Five had been relatively easy.

It was quite a moving scene honestly. Renji had been there along with Captains Zaraki, Kuchiki, Ukitake and their respective lieutenants just to give Ichigo and Sado a chance to get acclimated. When Ichigo and Chad arrived at the Squad Five barracks everyone from the third seat on down lined up waiting for the them. The boys were greeted with bows and a full formal greeting. They actually had to make it clear that they weren't captains, just substitutes.

Regardless, any doubts that Ichigo may have had were instantly extinguished.

Renji decided that this room was far too quiet for him, but he spared a smile as Byakuya silently placed a cup of tea in front of Sado. His captain always had the most subtle ways to show appreciation whether it was accepting a gift without complaint or giving you a cup of tea without a word. He wished to be as subtle and controlled as he was...however, there were moments when he suspected that all his calm and self control was an act. He never really expected him to get so worked up over him getting injured. Over the past week, Renji had gotten a rather nasty blow from the arm of a Hollow Eater. Those things were getting more and more aggressive by the day. They had even swallowed and shredded a few low rank Shinigami. The cadets were taking the losses quite hard. Not that he could blame them.

When he woke up in the Fourth division five days ago, he wasn't expecting Byakuya to be hovering right over him. It was creepy for a second but then he realized just how touched he was that his captain, who was supposed to be _working_, had gone two days sitting by his bedside making sure he woke up undisturbed. According to Ichigo, he wouldn't allow visitors even Ayasegawa. If it weren't for him, Renji would have more than a stab wound to worry about. These creatures thrived off of catching their opponents off guard.

_Make sure they're dead._ Morishitta had made that part perfectly clear. He remembered the girl to be something of a mouthy pint-sized powerhouse. At one point, he considered her the most annoying, evil prankster to walk both worlds. Now she just seemed like this snarky broken bird who still bugged the hell out of him.

Things were quiet now, thankfully with Squads Three and Ten on patrol. Morishitta, for all of her snark, had formed an odd but highly effective system of communication with Kira that seemed to be working frighteningly well. She wasn't kidding when she said "no mercy". If you found a Hollow-Eater ripped to shreds or reduced to chunks, it was likely that Squad Three and it's acting captain were responsible. Takeru-kun had private meetings with Yamamoto and afterward she couldn't be bothered unless you felt like missing a limb or your tongue. Takeru-kun wasn't the only one struggling under the pressure. Ichigo hardly slept anymore.

Walking by the rather dim room that Captain Kuchiki had given Ichigo to work, Renji could see the younger shinigami slaving over papers and reports he'd never had to do before. Ichigo's strategy had always been "attack, attack and if that doesn't work attack some more" that was one thing they had in common. He figured he'd never had much need for lining up a strategy. He knew that if Ichigo had it his way, he'd be fighting all these Hollow Eaters himself. He couldn't help but feel a little bad for the boy. Only a little. It was becoming glaringly obvious the Captain Kuchiki had it out for Ichigo. Still, he couldn't have him dying from something as stupid as lack of sleep so Renji had two objectives in mind when leaving the Squad Six Barracks: Find Ishida then find Ayasegawa.

Shambling into the the Ninth Squad Barracks, Renji found Hisagi hunched over a stack of papers. Now _this_ was a sight he was accustomed to.

"Good to see you moving around." Hisagi said sitting up and stretching. "I'm surprised Captain Kuchiki let you out of his sight."

"Does every one know about it?" Renji asked just a bit embarrassed, but in a good way.

"Well I'm not supposed to say anything but yes. Everyone knows." Hiasgi replied with a bit of a smirk. "You have Matsumoto and her gushing to thank for that." That was only half of it. Rukia couldn't keep her mouth shut about it either. "How're Yatsora and Kurosaki holding up?"

"Yatsora's a fucking general. He's basically Bya...Captain Kuchiki but y'know...taller." Hisagi seemed surprised.

"He never stuck me as the type." He said with a bit of admiration in his voice.

"Same here until I saw the kid in action." Renji scratched the back of his head. "Ichigo's not holding up to well, though. Rukia's little pep talks can only do so much. Kid doesn't fucking sleep, he's gonna get himself killed. Where's Ishida?" Hisagi looked back up, temporarily thrown off track. He thought Renji had switched gears on him not knowing that he'd come here to actually find Ishida.

"He's asleep most likely. He's got the night shift. He and Captain Sui Feng don't exactly get on." He scratched his head tiredly. "You should hear those two sometimes it's like...I don't know what it's like but I can barely keep up physically and mentally. What do you need him for?" He asked.

"Got to ask him something." He didn't see any reason to expound further. "Got a piece of paper? I'll just leave him a note or something." Hisagi handed him a slip of paper and something to write with. As long as he didn't disturb Ishida, he supposed. The Quincy wasn't exactly at his friendliest when he just woke up or ever for that matter. If anything, he had all the tact of an ice cold drill sergeant. Shuuhei pointed Renji in the direction of Ishida's room and was left wondering just what Renji wanted with the Quincy.

Renji found Ishida's room and slipped the note under the crevasse. He was planning on leaving it at that but apparently Ishida was just that good at hiding his reiatsu. Even if he just wanted a glass of water.

"Dammit, Ishida! Don't scare me like that!"

"Why are you acting so offended? This is my room." Ishida said with a frown...well a deeper frown. He was pretty sure a smirk was the only way to get this kid even close to smiling. "I see you're pretty much recovered. I don't know what Kuchiki was so worried about. You can take much more abuse than that." Ishida pointed to his mostly healed stab wound. It was a backhanded compliment, but Renji took it nonetheless. He supposed if he ever got something more from the Quincy he'd be a little freaked out.

"I thought you were asleep."

"So you wanted to gaze at my sleeping form, Abarai? I'm starting to wonder about you." There was that smirk.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Was there a point to this meeting?" Renji was going to explain himself when he noticed Uryuu place a hand over his stomach and take two big gulps of water.

"You woke up because of a stomach ache?"

"Something like that. Abarai..." Ishida didn't want to talk about it but Renji hadn't noticed yet.

"You okay?"

"No, I'm _tired_."

"No that's not it." Renji leaned forward and glared at Ishida. "Ya got bags under your eyes too! Do any of you kids _sleep_?" Ishida thought this was an assessment of his appearance and was a little less than pleased taking it as a cheap shot.

"I've only been asleep for two hours and awake for two _minutes_ now if you'll excuse me." Tired of the nonsensical conversation, he turned his back and slid open the door to his room.

"You have nightmares don't you?" Renji didn't realize he'd hit a nerve, he was just asking out of curiosity. No matter his intentions, Ishida stopped dead in his tracks and gazed back at him with murder in his eyes.

"And what's it to you?"

"Calm down, Quincy. Can't I be concerned?" Renji sputtered irritably. He hadn't expected such a reaction. He hadn't done anything to deserve it either. So much for just dropping off a message. "Why do you do that?"

"Do _what_?" Ishida spat, not expecting the response he actually received to hit so close to home.

"Treat me...us...like we'll fucking turn on you! You'd think we just met each other!" Ishida didn't hear that last part. It was like Renji had seen right through him, just like Takeru had done. For once it wasn't a joke at his expense or some demoralizing speech courtesy of his father. It was just an observation accompanied by a not-so-rhetorical question. With anyone else, it would've been, but not with Abarai. Anyone but him. "I can't stand Ichigo but at least he..."

"I'm sorry."

"He...wait...what?" Renji almost missed it due to the shock of Ishida actually admitting that Renji poked a hole in that damnable Quincy Pride.

"Don't make me repeat myself..." Ishida groaned at the sight of Renji's wide eyes. "Stop staring. I'm not going to say it again." There was the Quincy Pride right back where Ishida left it so Renji left it alone. He looked down briefly to see the Quincy pass a hand over his stomach after taking yet another sip of water and suddenly Renji was hit with a revelation that felt more like a flying brick.

"It's that Espada, isn't it?" He blurted out before thinking. "Szay-" He felt the the Quincy's reiatsu turn frigid. He'd said to much.

"If you keep mentioning his name I won't be able to be held responsible for my actions." Ishida hissed dangerously in response. Renji sighed guiltily. _I'm sorry, I'm sorry...I sometimes I get carried away. I should've... _"Did this have a point, Abarai?" Ishida reiterated. His words were slower and full of intent. Renji instinctively took a step back before he could answer. He didn't think he'd ever been so grateful to see someone turn his back on him.

"Yeah. Ichigo needs you whenever you wake up." He replied almost stammering. Too tired to ask why, Uryuu went to slide the door shut. "Oi, Ishida." It was the uncharacteristically soft, contrite tone in Abarai's voice made him stop. "If it helps..." He had trouble wringing out the next three words. "I do too." _I'm sorry._ All he heard was a sigh.

"I'll see Ichigo before I go on patrol. Good night, Abarai." _It's okay. _With that, the door slid shut. Renji looked up at the sun. It was only a little past noon, but he supposed to Ishida that it was just as good. It finally sunk in how exhausted the Quincy must have been. He scratched the back of his head leaving the barracks but not without telling Hisagi that he may want to keep some ginger on hand.

"Why?"

"It's good for upset stomachs." He really saw no need to expound further.

Eleventh Barracks

Yumichika had been up a little after Captain Sui Feng's recon squads were dispatched. His shift had just ended an hour ago, but Ikkaku was already asleep. Snoring was so ugly and he could hear him down the hall. The _hall._ He tolerated it though. It was when Ikkaku didn't snore that caused Yumichika to worry. Before Yumichika went to bed he always carried out the ritual of taking himself apart, no matter how exhausted he was. Unohana had actually chastised him for doing so when he was injured. It was one of the more terrifying experiences of his life. He knew that one of these days he was going to stop caring but that day hadn't come yet. Hearing a knock on the door, he sighed. There were only two people he let see him life this. Ikkaku and...

"Hey." Renji.

"Hello, Renji-kun. I wish you had let me answer before you came in." He said lightly. Renji knew it was a threat. Yumichika liked his privacy. "I could've been naked for all you know."

"I've seen you naked." Renji remarked with a bit of a frown. His eyes strayed under the line of Yumchika's hair to the jagged scars that circled the base of the smaller but slightly older man's neck. He, Captain Zaraki and Ikkaku were the only three who knew about those scars. Ikkaku and Renji were the only ones who knew that they went all the way down his back.

"Yes, but only when I want you to." Yumichika replied turning to him. "Glad to see up and around."

"I've had worse."

"You wouldn't think so with the way Captain Kuchiki hovered over you." Yumichika replied unable to resist the teasing.

"Well, if it weren't for you he would still be." Renji said. _Thank you_. Yumichika just smiled and turned his back once more to apply some oh-so-manly concealer. Renji stepped closer to the other shinigami and sat down next to him completely invading his personal space. As always Yumichika didn't really care as long as there was some reason to it and there always was. And it was always the same one. "I thought I'd thank you properly." Renji replied brushing his lips against Yumichika's ear. Leaning down to lavish the scars that the narcissist constantly tried to cover with affection. "Something's been bothering you all week, I can tell."

"Your injuries?" Yumichika asked. He tensed letting his eyes slide shut. He never did find that "better fuck" he'd been waiting for. He and Renji had been doing this since the had been promoted to seventh seat. It was an arrangement of trust.

"I'm fine, Renji insisted sinking a hand into the front of Yumichika's yukata brushing a thumb over the other man's nipple. "I won't ask you what's wrong because I know how much you hate it." Sometimes that gritty voice set fire to Yumichika's nerves. "But let me take your mind off of it." Something inside Yumichika snapped and he whipped around and attacked Renji's mouth. _Yes, please. I need this. Something _is_ wrong. Please help me._

This was by no means making love. They were fucking. Pure and simple. Well...maybe not exactly pure. Yumichika had a habit of saving Renji particularly when he was seventh seat. He was always eager to prove himself and ended up getting way over his head. He hadn't exactly learned his lesson either. But it was during one winter night that the two had gotten separated from the group and surrounded by hollows. The rush of crushing an onslaught and surviving had been so exhilarating that Renji had lost control of himself for a moment kissed Yumichika full on the mouth. _Beware Abarai,_ Yumichika had said, _do you realize what you could let out in me? _When it came down to it, Renji was very much like Rukia. They didn't care about the concept of sexual orientation. If they are offering it and you want it then...y'know...get it. They had Glad-to-be-Alive Sex right there in the woods. It was more battle than sex. It always was but they had trouble expressing themselves any other way when it came to such things. But somewhere down the line, it became darker, needier. The night Renji had called Yumichika "Byakuya" things got so much more complicated. But they kept meeting

...and never talked about it.

Sixth Divison

It was sundown when Uryuu woke up to go back and start the effort to gather more Hollow bait. He refused to give it to Kurotsuchi even if he was directed to, insisting that he examine it himself. The Quincies created Hollow Bait after all. It had caused quite a row between him and Sui Feng who, as he found out, was a bitch. Normally Uryuu couldn't find it in himself to call a woman that word but she was, in fact, an insufferable _bitch_. There was really no other way describe her.

He could stand the long suffering Hisagi, at the very least. Hisagi-san was very genial who, in spite of his rough appearance, was incredibly intelligent if a little bit of a pushover. When it came for the daily argument between him and Sui Feng, Hisagi was always the first to step in and settle things. God forbid, Mastsumoto-san come around. Sure she was a utter gem as far as her personality but Hisagi just could not focus with her around. There were two reasons for this and Uryuu was fairly certain they were both sitting squarely on Matsumoto's chest. In spite of this, however, Uryuu was fairly certain that Hisagi looked at _everyone_. Hisagi had had a bit too much sake after stepping out with Matsumoto when he turned to Uryuu and said, _"you're very pretty, you know? Very attractive"_.

Awkward.

His partners aside, Uryuu was surprised he'd been asked to participate at all. Hisagi's usual drinking crowd, Kira-san and Ayasegawa all stated these concerns as well. Kira when he thought he was out of ear shot and Ayasegawa to his face. "Keep those lovely eyes open Ishida-kun." Ayasegawa said smoothly. Was he warning him against his own superior? If it was anyone but Ayasegawa he would've suspected "yes" but the shinigami only trusted two people in the Sereitei and he made that perfectly clear. Matsumoto would smile and insist that Yumichika liked him. He just thought the man was obsessed with dusting him off every chance he got. Apparently, he really cared about how Uryuu looked every time they happened to cross paths.

Chad seemed _relieved_ to find Ishida had come along to visit. _"Yes, Ichigo needs to speak with you."_ It was later when he would figure out just what he meant by that.

"I'm here Kurosaki, what do you..." Ishida saw Ichigo hunched over the desk hand buried in the forest of orange hair in frustration. He vaguely wondered if this was how Abarai left him. He stepped closer and looked over the sheets and sheets of paper. "What's...all this about?" Ichigo jolted having just heard him come in.

"Oi, Ishida, don't scare me like that." He grunted turning back to the paper.

"You're the second person to say that to me today." Uryuu remarked mostly under his breath. "Is this what they have you doing? Filling out reports and waivers?" It didn't seem fair. "Have you seen battle at all?" Ichigo grunted in response. "I guess Captain Kuchiki really _does _have it out for you..." He muttered. It was supposed to be a joke but there was some truth to it, he realized. Ichigo groaned planted his forehead on the desk.

"Kill me." He pleaded dramatically sounding like a drunken zombie with his face buried in paper. "Please, kill me." He made a long drawn out noise in the back of his throat.

"Stop your whining, Kurosaki." Uryuu said smacking the substitute on the back of his head.

"Ow! What the hell?" Ichigo groused sitting back up. Uryuu snatched the paper from under Ichigo's hand before the other could get a chance to read it himself. He scanned it for a moment and frowned.

"Kurosaki, all this is is glorified math homework." Uryuu said with a sigh. He began to scuttle around to the room.

"What're you looking for?" Ichigo asked rubbing his aching head.

"A manifesto of Squad Five...ah here we are and in plain sight. You know if you were more observant you would've found it." Uryuu smacked the large manifesto onto Ichigo's desk. He explained all the ins and outs of the Tactical Defense Form. "How did you manage to do half of your work without the manifesto of your squad?" Uryuu bleated. Ichigo offered a small shrug in response. Uryuu pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're impossible, Kurosaki." He expected some snappy response but instead got a small, quiet laugh. "What?"

"Nothing...I just..." Ichigo sighed running a hand through his hair. "Everything feels normal when you say stuff like that." Uryuu's silence gave him a chance to elaborate. "We get thrown into dangerous situations every-freaking-day. Like this. Taking over Aizen's squad...it still feels weird." He sat back. "But hearing you insult me and I realize that nothing's really changed about me."

"Are you sick?" Uryuu teased but Ichigo remained serious.

"No I've just had a lot of time to think. And if you say "that's a stretch" I'm going to punch you in the face." Ichigo replied with a smirk cutting him off before he could even open his mouth. "You always pick up where I fail. You maintain your cool when I lose mine, you remember things when I don't..." Uryuu could see where this was headed and tried to stop him.

"Kurosaki..." To no avail, of course because Ichigo _never_ listens.

"You can even do this paper work when I can't make head or freaking tails of it." At this point, Ichigo was exhausted and rambling. "You were the one who protected Inoue when I couldn't...you even protected me from myself."

"_Ichigo._" Hearing his first name from Uryuu's mouth for the first time, threw him for a loop and everything that was spilling out came to a screeching halt. "Shut up. You're rambling." _Not to mention bringing up things we swore never to speak of again_. Kurosaki needed a distraction so he could relax and shut up. "Sit up." He commanded. Ichigo miraculously did as he was told. Uryuu placed his hands on the other's shoulders and started kneading them. Ichigo's eyes went wide.

"Uh...Ishida...?"

"It's just to calm you down. I haven't heard you ramble like that since you had your first taste of sake." Uryuu snapped. Ichigo opened his mouth to reply until Ishida rolled a finger over a hard knot in his shoulder.

"Oh shit..." He groaned.

"You are just like Rukia." Uryuu stated. "You both carry a lot of stress in your shoulders." Not surprising seeing as how they were accomplished swordsmen...well swordsman and woman.

"You've done this for Rukia?"

"Yes and Sado-kun and Inoue. Rukia sleeps in odd positions, Sado-kun's posture is terrible and Orihime is so excitable. I don't know why but they keep asking me to rub their shoulders. I suppose I've gotten good at it."

"That's for damn sure. Where did you learn this?"

"I read." Awkward pause. "A lot." There was silence between the two as Uryuu continued to massage Kurosaki's shoulders. What exactly was this idiot trying to prove staying up so late? Kuchiki may have had it out for Ichigo, but more than likely he had not meant for Ichigo to take this long on a stack of papers. Uryuu chewed the inside of his cheek, brooding over what Ichigo had said minutes ago. It was funny...he hadn't realized until now that he and Ichigo had known each other for years now and had been through enough danger to last them a life time. Maybe...maybe he could... "Kurosaki..." Before he even gathered up the courage to say what needed to be said, he was interrupted by a soft snore. He smirked. Just as planned. Maybe it wasn't time to say it just yet. There was no blanket in sight, so he just leaned Kurosaki back in his chair and told Sado-kun that Ichigo would probably need to be moved lest he drool all over the desk.

Eleventh Division Barracks

Renji awoke to find that Yumichika had gone back to his mirror. The latter was already dressed and to the nines as usual, carefully applying the feathers he was known so well for. Renji vaguely wondered if anyone would actually recognize Yumichika without them or the neck piece.

"How long was I out?"

"Long enough for me to sleep well, shower and get dressed." Shit. "I told you to lay down and let me ride you but no, you like missionary." Yumichika huffed.

"I like tradition." Renji offered rubbing his sore wound. Yumichika scoffed, not buying it. "Look I'll let you choose the position next time."

"No you won't." A seamless, instant counter, just like the way he fought. Renji wasn't sure what he had done today to earn the reproach of his friends but whatever it was, it was starting to irritate him.

"Okay, I know I said I wasn't going to ask but seriously, what the hell's wrong with you?" He jumped in spite of himself when Yumichika slammed his hands on the vanity. That was all Renji needed to tell that this problem was far more serious than Yumichika had originally let on. "Do you want me to leave?" He asked quietly.

"No, I..." Yumichika at a loss for words? Renji feared he may have slept through the apocalypse. The silence was disturbing, left Renji shaken and very worried. "I'm sorry...I don't mean to take it out on you. But I don't want to talk about it." Renji didn't want to let it go but if it was anyone else but Yumichika...

"Alright. I get that. I guess." A long awkward silence filled the room. Renji stood to his feet and dressed. "I'll just go, let you got your thoughts together."

"Renji..." Yumichika stopped him before he got through the door. "Thank you for trying." Renji gave Yumichika a smile to show he wasn't angry as he left the room. With a sigh, Yumichika looked back at his face in the mirror. _You're so hideous inside yelling at people who only want to help. You're so filthy!_

A few minutes later, Yumichika left his room joining Ikkaku and Iba. Sqauds Eleven and Seven patrolled the West Gate tonight. Tonight was going to be...interesting. Yumichika found himself stuck with Iba while Ikkaku dealt with a hyper active Yachiru who was chewing on his head. He and Tetuzaemon had two completely different sets of aesthetics. When they weren't sitting in silence, they were most likely arguing. It rarely ever got serious.

"Ran into Abarai." Iba said conversationally. Yumichika just "mm"ed noncommittally. "Good to see he's healing well. Looks like you saved his ass again. He seemed a little sore when he left though..." Still no response from the Narcissist. Iba found himself getting miffed with him. "You can't keep doing that, you know." Being older than Yumichika and being with him at the academy, he always felt like he had to keep an eye on him. It wasn't always appreciated.

"Doing what?"

"Having sex with a superior officer. A _male_ superior officer." Iba wasn't a homophobe but he was a traditional kind of man. That was how his mother raised him. It may have sounded sissy to anyone else, but sex with someone you didn't love was just... "Disgusting."

"_Excuse_ me?" Yumichika's voice became low and dangerous. Iba wasn't intimidated. He hadn't meant to say that out loud but he stood by it.

"Sleeping around like you do. Everyone knows you do it." He replied crossing his arms and gazing down at the smaller Shinigami.

"Your point?"

"You're going to dishonor the Eleventh Division one day and you'll have no one to blame but yourself." For Iba, this was a simple piece of reproach. He was even going to turn around and leave it at that. He had no idea just how deeply he'd cut the already wounded Yumichika. That he'd played the strings of his greatest fear against him. He had no clue that he had forced the fancy shinigami just a little too far this time.

"Shut up, Iba." The volume of Yumichika's voice climbed with each word. "What I do with my life and my time is _none_ of your concern."

"Ayase..."

"No. Don't bother explaining yourself. Regardless of you intentions, I have suffered under the weight of your snide judgment ever since the academy. I have decided that I am tired of bearing it." Yumichika was shouting by now. No one seemed to notice though. Iba had much more to say, that hadn't meant to hurt his old friend. That he was honestly just looking out for him but the shock of being shouted at prevented from him saying any such thing. Sure Iba offered his advice when he didn't ask for it but... "You of all people should know that I would never knowingly put this division at risk! You have no idea of the lengths I go to to uphold the doctrine of this Division!" It was that last sentence that made Iba reach for Yumichika before he could speak but Ayasegawa wasn't having any of it. "Don't touch me!" He turned on his heel and strode away.

"Yumichika!" _I'm sorry._

"Fuck you, Iba!" _Now_ everyone was looking. Yumichika would never let such vulgar language leave his lips even during the most heated moments. The minute the word "fuck" left his mouth, everyone even Zaraki, suddenly became aware that he'd been screaming for the past two minutes. Before anyone could catch him though, Yumichika had vanished into the woods.

"What the fuck did you do?" Ikkaku shouted advancing on Iba. "What'd you say to him?" Iba stared in the direction Yumichika had vanished.

"I think...I said too much."

An Hour Later

_So maybe storming off wasn't the best idea_, Yumichika surmised as he met the business end of Hollow-Eater's claw. He couldn't help but cry out when he hit the nearest tree. That was the second serious blow he'd taken. The first one had broken his right leg. Now he had to fight with this Chinese sparerib hanging out of his leg. He couldn't even stand on it. It normally took at least three shinigami to take these things on but he was all by himself. This was a problem. As he saw it, he had two options. Call for help. _Hell no._ Or use his kido to keep the damn thing at bay.

_You can use me, you know that right?_ Ruri'iro Kujaku bitched. Yumichika ignored him. He didn't quite know how far he'd wandered...what if someone saw? At least with kido, he could blame the explosion on the Hollow Eater.

It was odd that there was even a Hollow-Eater at all. There were no hollows around. He supposed that the Gotei 13 would've ignored these creatures if they hadn't caused so much damage. Not to mention they caused a record amount of casualties. That pretty little girl Ame-chan had met gruesome end not two days ago. Pity. She was so sweet. High ranking officers were sustaining major injury, the Fourth Division was stretched thin...This started out as a preventive effort, it was slowly escalating. If they didn't get a break soon, it would be all out war. _Not again. No. It's too soon..._

_ Yumichika!_ Ruri'iro Kujaku almost sounded concerned as all eight claws of the monster lunged down out at Yumichika.

"Hado number Fifty-Eight: Tenran!" The gale force wind was enough to throw the giant thing off of it's path of attack. Yumichika didn't lose another moment aiming directly into the worm's massive mouth that was really just a teeth-filled hole. It's skin may have been rock hard on the outside, but he'd never met a creature that could take an electric current to it's insides and come out unscathed. "Hado Number Sixty Three! Raikoho!" The large electric current exploded inside the monster and it let out a dying shriek and fell back. It's reiatsu fizzled instantly. Yumichika stood in shock for a moment.

He had only expect to wound the thing bad enough to get away. He never expected to actually _kill _it. However, without the adrenaline pumping, he became aware of the searing pain burning his right leg. He couldn't stay here.

_Yumichika. You're bleeding. You can't walk. Call my name and I can get you to the Healers. _

_ No! I'm not that far, someone will see._

_ Will you please use some common sense! _

The next series of events happened in a matter of seconds, yet very slowly. Yumichika was in the throes of an argument with his zanpakuto as he attempted to limp away from the monster. He was only three steps away when he sensed the beast's reiatsu flare. The supposedly dead creature screeched and launched itself at Yumichika. On instinct, he grabbed his zanpakuto. Anyone who wasn't in the Eleventh would've cowered. Then all at once, his saving grace descended on him.

He was forced to cover his eyes as a shower of blue light descended on the Hollow-Eater. Ishida Uryuu landed solidly on the ground as the dust cleared. He'd left nothing of the creature but quivering chunks. No kill like overkill. Uryuu wished the kill could've been cleaner but one shot kills weren't doing it anymore. Morishitta-san was extremely clear on that and he had the bruises to prove it.

"I don't think I've ever found white more beautiful." Yumichika said honestly. Uryuu had _honestly_ forgot Ayasegawa was even there. "If I was Ikkaku, I would challenge you for ruining my battle but that wouldn't have been a battle, just a mess. So thank you."

"I didn't do it to save you, Shinigami." Yumichika smirked expecting no less.

"Of course not." He replied airily. There was a ninety-five percent chance that Ishida saving his life was just a bonus. He could accept that.

"What were you doing out here alone?" It sounded more like an interrogation than anything.

"Fighting off the repercussions of a poorly made decision." Yumichika replied smoothly. Ishida didn't know very many people who could still maintain their cool after having their shin nearly ripped and what had to be a severe concussion. "I hate to impose but I can barely walk on my own...if you could..." The were cut off by a flare of strange, disorienting reiatsu. They may have paid no mind to it if a quiet sinister laugh hadn't come along with it. A streak of shadow crossed their sight stopping in the remains of the Hollow-Eater.

"Wait!" Ishida shouted firing an arrow at it. In the light of the arrow, he saw this shadow was a human female dressed scantily in black. She dodged, smirking. Bending down to collect something from the remains and then leaping away. "Stop!" Ishida shot a few more arrows but a few flips and something that sounded like sonido the assailant was gone. Ishida went to chase after her, but he found himself stopping at the sound of Yumichika limping away from the battlefield. Ishida's sense of decency out lasted his brain and he strode over to assist him without another thought. The whole display in and of itself was rather pitiful anyway.

"You're going to lose your target." Yumichika replied.

"Better than losing a capable fighter I suppose." Uryuu replied. Yumichika smirked. He knew thanking the Quincy would only embarrass them both.

"Don't let them see me like this." He asked quietly. For a moment, all he heard was muted sigh from Uryuu.

"No promises."

_I like how this turned out. Remember to read and review please. Expect to see me in a week possibly sooner but I prefer to stay on schedule. I love you readers. You guys keep me going._

_With love,_

_East_


	7. Regression

_Okay moving right along with the story I gotta warm you of and explain a few things. There's a few spoilers here about Gin in this chapter, I'm figuring that it's old news but, I could be wrong. There's also a dash of past GinRan in there somewhere. There's a mention of Ulquiorra here. I didn't intend to ship UlquiHime cause there's no room in the story for it, and I'm not much of a fan of the couple unless it's AU. After I reread it a few times, however, it sounds a bit more romantic than I originally intended. Either way, he's not coming back so nothing will come of it. There's some WAFF in here just to change things up a little cause shit it gonna get real next chapter. Enjoy._

Fourth Division

Orihime did not expect this much work. She didn't expect to see such gruesome injures either but oddly enough, this made her all the more happy to help to the best her abilities. She was doing quite well. Over the past week, she and Hanatoru-kun had adjusted so well, that they may as well have been working in tandem. She recalled Hana-kun being something of a wimp and an easy target. He'd changed quite a bit since she last saw him. For one, he could stand up for himself a little better. She supposed that came from getting sliced in the chest. Apparently Byakuya-san taught him the shunpo so he wouldn't "fall behind again". Some things about him were still the same like he still talked far too much. She liked it though. She always talked far more than any of her friends. Especially Uryuu-kun, not that she called him that in public. It was nice to listen for once.

"That makes for about twenty-five injured." Hanatoru-kun said reading the clip board. "Three dead." She didn't like being around all this death. At least they could look forward to being reincarnated right? She had to compartmentalize just like everything else. Her memories were always there but she couldn't dwell on them. Not anymore. She was tired of being sad all the time. No matter how many times she saw Ulquiorra in her dreams.

"Just sit still for a bit longer Rangiku-san." She pleaded. Rangiku laughed shakily through her pain.

"No problem here." She wasn't going anywhere with her arm banged up like that. Orihime learned the hard way that she couldn't heal every wound completely. She'd been out of commission for three days after overtaxing herself. That's why she couldn't get to Abarai-kun's wounds. Not that it mattered. Captain Kuchiki wouldn't let anyone near him. She healed Rangiku enough to get the bleeding to stop and get her somewhat ambulatory again before Hana-kun followed up behind her and bandaged her.

"Inoue-san! Inoue-san!" She almost jumped at the frantic calling of her name but she'd gotten used to _someone_ being frantic about _something_ at any given point of the day. "We need you in the next room!" She left Rangiku, who's wounds were better than they actually looked and went to care for her newest patients. Rangiku smiled as the girl left. She'd sure grown up.

"Ow! Yamada! That's too tight!"

"Well, Rangiku-san maybe if you didn't _bleed_ so much you wouldn't be in this mess." Was Hanatarou actually...smirking? He was! How cute! She laughed at his jibe.

"Well then I will try to be more careful, Yamada." She replied with a small bow and instantly regretting it for her bruised ribs. Hanatarou sighed wielding the bandages like a weapon.

"Good. Now stay still."

"Ow!"

Orihime found herself calling Ayame over Lieutenants Kira and Ise both badly injured by two separate Hollow-Eater attacks tonight. There had been five attacks in total and the night wasn't over. Ise had extensive internal bleeding, which would be difficult for anyone else but Orihime to fix. Then there was Kira with a massive wound to his shoulder. Orihime swallow feeling a bit worried. Wasn't Morishitta supposed to be with Lieutenant Kira? She sighed knowing she had to focus. Ise was the first to regain consciousness.

"Please stay still, Ise-san, if you move like that I won't be able to fix you." Orihime pleaded. The lieutenant just smiled.

"Please, tell...please tell my captain that I'm alright." She said. Orihime nodded and wiped the sweat off her brow to continue working. She remembered her first trip to the Soul Society. She was glad that she could be of some use this time.

Having just regained consciousness herself, Takeru waited as patiently as she could as Lieutenant Isane bandaged her head. Her fists were clenched in her lap as she fought to maintain her composure. Unable to contact The Agency, she was completely on her own and the Old Man wanted some answers like why are these beasts attacking the Sereitei? Now some woman shows up collecting organs from the remains? She'd never seen or heard of anything like it.

"Is Kira alright?" She asked still hazy. She didn't know that he'd been placed in a room with Ise as well.

"He's in good hands with Orihime-chan." Isane reassured her but quickly left the room all the same. Takeru noted that she didn't say yes. She looked down at her hand wondering the true reason she, the youngest High Court Judge in history, daughter of an Oracle and sister of traitor here. She was being kept in the dark...what did they want her to do here? She groaned loudly holding her head.

"I see we feel the same." She looked up to see Uryuu leaning on the doorway.

"You're not hurt are you?" Takeru asked. Uryuu seemed insulted.

"No I can manage myself well enough. Ayasegawa-san couldn't walk on his own so I brought him here."

"What happened?"

"Broken leg, concussion."

"He got lucky." Takeru said grimly.

"No contact with your superiors?" Uryuu asked.

"None." Takeru replied. She groped around for the painkillers for her headache. Uryuu handed them to her. "Thanks. Old Man Yama's breathing down my neck and I've got nothing to go on." She swallowed the pills.

"I figured as much, that's why you should be the first one to hear this. The Hollow-Eaters are developing the habits of Hollows going after any strong spiritual pressure. One of them attacked Ayasegawa tonight. A single shinigami."

"What was he doing on his own?" Takeru asked suspiciously. Everyone was supposed to be in teams on patrol. The first thing the popped into her spinning mind was that he had something to do with all this.

"He got into an altercation with one of his teammates and he stormed off. His story checks out." Takeru's suspicions were instantly dashed. "But we managed to see a woman...

"Dressed in black, stealing things from the remains?" They both turned to the doorway finding Rukia standing there looking very but carrying a stack of bento boxes that seemed larger than her. "Lieutenant Kotetsu and I saw her too."

"Third Division's seen her too." Takeru replied burying her face in her hands. "She's stealing organs, pieces...You're the fifth person to report her appearance to me." Uryuu placed a hand on Takeru's shoulder before turning to Rukia. "I'll help you carry those, Kuchki-san." And he ushered her out of the room. Looking back at Takeru, the girl smiled and mouthed "thank you". She needed to be alone for a minute.

"Thanks for helping me carry these, Ishida." Rukia said with a sigh.

"What are they for?" He asked.

"Lieutenant Kotetsu's sister is the lieutenant of Fourth Division. The uninjured are handing out food and water to the nurses and medics." She said. "Not to mention Kiyone-san practically demanded that I help." A shiver went down Uryuu's spine. Someone who could boss _Rukia_ around? He had to meet this Kiyone-san.

"Inoue-san always forgets to eat." Ishida added lightly.

"Yeah, we can't have her or Isane-san passing out again." Rukia replied. Upon remembering how concerned Uryuu became when Orihime fainted, she looked back up at him over the stacks of bento. "You and Orihime are very close aren't you?"

"I guess you could say that." Uryuu evaded. He wasn't the best at talking about relationships. "Why?"

"Well I was wondering if..."

"WHERE IS HE?" If that voice was anyone's but Ikkaku's they would've done something other than sighing irritably.

"It seems like Madarame found out about Ayasegawa." Uryuu said. "Have those two always been together?" Rukia nodded smiling to herself a little, really they reminded her of Renji and herself.

"As far back as I can remember."

"What the hell, Yumichika!" The aforementioned shinigami wasn't surprised when Ikkaku threw open the door. "You gotta lotta nerve running off like that to fight without me, you, good for nothing pretty boy! After you've been harping on me about promises and what-ever-the-hell, you let Iba piss you off so much you go and almost get yourself killed! This is what you get for not-"

"Ikkaku."Yumichika interjected holding up his hand. "If you could...my head really hurts." He pointed to his bandage with a small, sheepish smile. Ikkaku sucked his teeth and looked over to the side. Scratching the back of his head, he sighed irritably like he always did. He sat down net to Yumichika and after a long moment of silence wrapped his arm possessively around Yumichika's shoulders. Ikkaku didn't need to say how worried he'd been. Yumichika could tell by how close he held him. Right now, he was close enough to lay his aching head on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a moment, in complete silence.

"You know I love you, right?" Regardless of his headache, Yumichika's head shot up, unaccustomed to a verbal show of affection. "Don't lookit me like that, you know I do. Why the hell else would I put up with you? So forget whatever Iba said to you and just...you know be _you_ again..." Ikkaku grunted. "When you mentioned...back then...it got me thinkin'." Yumichika was too much in shock to make a sassy comeback. "I know we don't love each other like you want but for what it's worth, I do love ya. "

"It's worth everything." Yumchika replied without hesitation. "I don't care what our relationship is as long as I'm _with_ you. I wouldn't trade what we have for anything." He laid back in the crook of Ikkaku's neck. "I'm sorry I made you think otherwise and I'm sorry I broke our promise but for your information I _was_ ambushed." He laughed softly. "That also means you have to keep your promise too."

"Well yeah, it's how I plan to go out."

"And I won't be mad at you for dying as long as you go down fighting." Yumichika looked up at Ikkaku's smirking face. All was right with the world.

"Deal"

Orihime had finished with Kira and Ise and with the stream of patients slowing to a stop, Unohana insisted that she take a break. Though Orihime knew she had enough energy for two or three more patients, it was impossible to say no to the captain. She could be so scary sometimes.

"Orihime?" She heard her named called as a brunette she knew so well poked her head into the room.

"Rukia-chan!" Orihime said happily. Of course, at this point Rukia suspected she was happier to see the bento. As she ate Orihime began to muse out loud. "I wonder why Unohana-sama will never let me cook. Oh! I could make bean-paste and banana rolls!" Rukia chuckled to herself. Only Orihime could make such a dark situation good again. Especially after that Thirteenth Squad lost such a sweet girl like Ame-chan. She fought an overwhelming need to embrace Orihime and never let go. She was little a living Chappy. "You must be fast to pass out dinner much faster than Kiyone-san."

"No, I had help. Ishida was with me." Rukia replied. Suddenly that nagging little question gnawed at the corner of her mind. Honestly, Rukia didn't like to label sexuality but she knew that humans could be so caught up in such things. Particularly when it came to men. She figured in this downtime now would be as good any any to ask. "Orihime, I have a question." She said slowly.

"What is it?" Orihime noted the soft, cautious tone.

"Is Ishida...fancy?" She asked.

"Fancy? Well, he makes pretty fancy clothes but no I don't think he has expensive tastes. You see Ishida's budget is pretty tight he doesn't have..."

"No, no Orihime-chan. That's not what I meant." Rukia interjected the impending shpeel of insane but somehow logical reasoning that was Orihime's normal train of thought. "I meant: is Ishida a homosexual?" Suddenly the mood in the room changed drastically. Orihime had all the words and sucked out of her. Only one other person could do that to her and he was dead. Well...turning to dust would be considered deader than dead actually. She placed her bento down and sighed. She couldn't lie, not to Rukia. The night Ishida told her, he pleaded with her so fervently not to tell he was almost in tears. It was like he was afraid...not of what the others would say, but afraid of himself. All that Quincy Pride was gone, broken. He was just this sad little boy. It hurt her so much to see those hard blue eyes she'd come to admire glued to her floor, and those hands that were so steady shaking almost uncontrollably. She selfishly hoped to never see him like that ever again.

"Rukia-chan...I'm not allowed to say...I promised..." Orihime replied looking down at the floor. Rukia held up a hand.

"Say no more. I never asked."

Kira wouldn't be fully ambulatory until tomorrow. Lieutenant Kotetsu made that perfectly clear. Unfortunately, she only did so _after_ he sat up. Regardless, Inoue-san's powers were amazing getting him healed so quickly. With just kido, he wouldn't be back on the field for at least three days but at this rate, he'd be up and about in no time.

"Kira-san?" It was Morishitta-san who pulled him out of his contemplative state. He almost smiled but at the sight of the bandage on her head, he was overwhelmed with guilt. "Good to see you up. I just wanted to check on you before Yamamoto steam rolls me in this emergency meeting. How're you doing? "

"I'll be alright." He replied evasively. He sighed knotting the covers in his hands. "I'm sorry."

"What? Why?" Takeru bleated, maybe a little too loudly for her aching head.

"If I hadn't have messed up you, Matsumoto and Captain Hitsugaya wouldn't have gotten injured. You wouldn't have had to even get involved if I hadn't..." He was cut off by Takeru sitting right next to him. Her rather amble backside shoved him over a ways, but he hoped she meant nothing by it.

"Kira, we didn't lose anyone in our squad today, that's all that matters.." She frowned. "You're a lieutenant. You shouldn't be blaming yourself like this. I realize we've only been working together for a week, but what's bothering you?" He flinched when she placed a hand on his head. It would seem odd a man his age getting comfort and advice from a teenage girl, but Morishitta was a Cleric, and a high ranking one at that. She could be thousands of years old for all he knew.

"Bad memories have been plaguing me lately." Kira replied quietly. "The last time we had such chaos, my captain, a man I looked up to and trusted with my life no matter how twisted he could be, betrayed the Gotei 13, me and worst of all the woman who loved him. It may have been for a personal motive but regardless he did try to save us all in the end. I wonder...if it's selfish to wish that he survived living with the memories that we all suffer through day after day instead being at peace in a new life. Is it selfish to just want him...here?"

"It is. Just a little." Kira flinched but his acting captain just smiled. "But all of us can selfish sometimes. I know how you feel and I wish I could tell you it will go away." She began toying with her necklace again. "The truth is, we're soldiers. We give ourselves, our flesh and our peace of mind every single day for greater good. Maybe we deserve to be just a bit selfish." Kira was stunned to silence by her logic and said nothing in protest. After a moment, he smiled, just a bit. Takeru patted him on his good solider and stood to her feet. "Get some rest. I'll need you tomorrow."

"Understood, captain." Kira laid back down. He felt a bit better but as he watched the girl leave, a pang of mild horror hit him. To give such advice she would've had to experience it. Who had she lost to make her so wise? He knew whoever it was made that necklace for her but nothing beyond that. Perhaps she was thousands of years old. Pain like that could suck all of the youth out of you.

First Division Barracks

Ishida was obligated to appear at the captain's meeting no matter how many times he insisted Hisagi could go in his stead. He decided he despised the thought of being a _shinigami_ captain. No matter how thoroughly hilarious and ironic Captain Sui Feng found it. Kurosaki sure looked relaxed. _He must have gotten to kill something tonight_, he thought with a bit of a smirk. Sado-kun looked exhausted, but as he remembered, he had command of the morning's first shift, he'd most likely been dead asleep. The captain of the Eighth Division was decidedly absent staying with his lieutenant until she convalesced just as Kuchki did for Abarai. Takeru, on the other hand, looked like hell though judging by the look on her face. No one dared to say anything though, she looked as if she may strange someone.

"This Captain's meeting will now be called to order." Yamamoto ground out slowly. "Report."

"There has been a distinct decline in Hollow bait usage." Sui Feng responded.

"Five sightings of an unidentified, blonde female collecting organs and remains from battlefields, sir." Takeru replied. "The Emanations have not changed form as per usual."

"Elaborate." A simple command but one that made everyone jump a little.

"Emanations are very much like Hollows in form. They often come in different forms but these Hollow-Eaters are are the sand worm type, large, bloated bodies with large mouths and eight tendrils or arms around that mouth to drag in their prey which until tonight, has been Hollows. It's like they're clones of one Hollow-Eater."

"Is it likely that our efforts to eliminate them has turned their attacks on us?" Ukitake asked with hopes he was wrong.

"Unlikely." Takeru replied. Ukitake made his sigh of relief as quiet as possible. "Emanations are made from destruction, therefore, that is all they desire. The fact that they even seem to have a target at all is cause for alarm." Ichigo frowned. He could see her temples throbbing from where he was standing.

"Can we assume that this woman is an enemy?" Hitsugaya asked, arms folded.

"At this rate anyone not a shinigami should be treated as an enemy!" Kurotsuchi shrieked. "Including this blasted..."

"Captain Kurotsuchi." Unohana cut the babbling scientist off before he could even finish pointing to Uryuu. "Need I remind you that both Morishitta and Captain Hitsugaya are injured and the volume of your voice is sure to have a negative impact on their conditions. So please lower your voice."

"You won't silence me this time, woman! I..."

"Kurotsuchi-san." Unohana said slowly. Ichigo could've sworn the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees. "Please. Lower your voice." _Never_ make Captain Unohana repeat herself. Kurotsuchi didn't speak for the rest of the meeting.

"Captain Sui Feng, and Ishida Uryuu: expand your team and re-focus efforts on capturing this woman. You may chose two of the patrol squads. You have a moment to convene."

"Squad Five." Uryuu said without hesitation. Nobody but Ichigo himself was surprised. Sui Feng was greatly displeased at his impatience but didn't put up an argument as the choice was a perfect compliment to her first choice.

"State your reason." Yamamoto replied formally.

"There is no one else in this room that I trust more than Yasutora Sado and Kurosaki Ichigo. I can assure you that they will always remain true to the mission and do so with maximum efficiency." Ichigo smiled, flattered to the very core. "Or at the very least, Kurosaki will slash through enough enemies to make it _look_ like something got done." Then Ishida had to go an ruin it of course. There was a general chuckle around the room. Ichigo grunted but Chad knew that he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Captain Sui Feng, your decision?" Yamamoto's voice kept the laughter from going any farther.

"Squad Six, Captain Commander." She said. "For the Squad's speed, and diligence in investigative matters." This seemed to be an acceptable explanation and Yamamoto had no further questions.

"Morishitta Takeru."

"Sir."

"Join the rest of the Squads in the effort to continue guarding the Sereitei but once this woman is captured, you will have the sole duty of questioning her. Is that understood?" Chad didn't miss the was she tensed at the word "questioning".

"Understood." Takeru said quietly.

"The rest of you resume your duties as originally dictated. Is that understood?"

"Sir!" Everyone, except Kurotsuchi, said in unison.

Seconds after the meeting, Chad couldn't take the sight of Takeru dragging herself along anymore and he placed a large hand on the girl's shoulder. He realized that she was much taller than he originally thought. She had to be at least Ichigo's height.

"Oh, hey Yasutora-kun." She replied glumly.

"You need tea." Chad stated simply.

"But..."

"Kuchiki-sama makes very good tea." He insisted. "Vanilla Jasmine is good for headaches and bad days." Takeru briefly looked up at him and smiled.

"Okay, big guy, you win." she replied. Ishida watched the two walk off for a moment. "You win"? He smirked thinking that she didn't put up much of a fight.

"Oi, Ishida!" He turned to Ichigo who was striding toward him. Its too late a night, Ishida thought, for witty banter. "Uh...Thanks for earlier." Ichigo said a bit awkwardly a small smile carved itself into Ishida's face. Not that smirk full of that Quincy smugness Ichigo had grown so accustomed to, but a little though slightly tired _smile_.

"You needed it." Ishida said simply also dropping the banter for now. The sun was rising and it was getting near the end of his shift. The exhaustion was setting in. "You seem too cheerful, what's wrong with you?" He asked warily. Ichigo shrugged.

"I've been like this ever since I woke up." He replied with a smile. Ishida chuckled a little.

"I guess I'm..." He looked away. "...glad that you're feeling better then." He cleared his throat. "You were jabbering on like that..."

"Okay, okay quit bringing up the sake thing. If I'd known what it was I wouldn't have had any." Ichigo insisted.

"Oh sure and Urahara doesn't occasionally trick us into drinking for a cheap laugh or two." Ishida replied sarcastically. Not his best comeback but he was tired.

"Che. Whatever." Ichigo replied lamely rolling his eyes, he had more important things to talk about. "Look, I know I said somethings this afternoon that-"

"Kurosaki." Ishida said firmly. When had they stopped walking? "If we promised never to speak of it what are you bringing up again?"

"Because I want to apologize is that so hard to believe?" Ichigo bleated. Before Ukitake left he cast a glance back at the two, noting that they reminded him of he and Kyouraku whenever they argued. He smiled to himself wondering if the boys would end up in the same way. Uryuu sighed and stood back.

"No. It isn't." He replied conceding in defeat.

"Why don't you want me to talk about it?" Ichigo asked quietly. "You know what I did to you...are you just trying to deny it?"

"No." Uryuu said firmly. "It's because..." He words failed him for a minute as if he were afraid to say it. He clenched his callused hands and turned away for a moment. To collect himself, he pushed up his glasses. "You already blame yourself enough." There was another sigh. "Do you want me to be honest?"

"Are you ever anything but?" Ishida whipped around gave him a look. _Kurosaki, I'm serious. _

"You would be the first person to admit things have changed between us ever since Hueco Mundo." Ishida replied. "I don't want our friendship to be based off of fault and guilt. If we stopped talking about _it_ maybe you could forget _it_ and move on." Ichigo wasn't having any of his reasoning.

"But if I forget it who's to say I can't hurt you again?"

"You never listen! I could rub it it your face and you still wouldn't get because you _never listen_!" Uryuu snapped. Ichigo took a few steps back in shock. He wasn't expecting what came after either. "I don't care about that! Do you have any idea how _painful_ it is to watch you struggle under the weight of your own guilt? To bear with the piteous look in your eyes _every time_ you look at me? You've been through so much afterward, but you still carry around the scars of Hueco Mundo, no matter how many times you try to deny it. Just like when you lost your powers. You may think you're hiding but it's never been more clear than it is now. You've saved our lives countless times! Isn't that penitence enough?"

"Not when it's you!" Ichigo shouted before he could stop himself. He actually taken Uryuu by the shoulders and shook him. "It's not enough. Not when it's you..." He repeated quieter nails digging into Uryuu's shoulders. "Do _you_ have any idea how painful it is to think about you not being there to kick me in the ass whenever I screw something up?" He mimicked Ishida's words.

" Am I dead every time you look at me?" Uryuu replied. "Well I'm still alive. As long as you want me to kick your ass, shinigami, I will!" It took Ichigo a while to realize what Uryuu was saying.

"That a promise?" Ichigo challenged with a wily grin.

"No. It's a _threat_." Uryu said shoving Ichigo lightly. Sharing a small, quiet laugh, they continued walking.

Two Days Later

Two days and everything had gone still. Completely and utterly still. No attacks. No sign of the woman. Ishida, Sui Feng and Hisagi still worked in tandem, dividing the Sereitei with Squads Five and Six. No matter how much ground they'd covered, there wasn't even a sign of their mystery assailant.

"No slacking! Keep moving, we have a schedule to keep!"

"Are you alright, Hisagi-san?" Ishida asked. Hisagi was the polite one, it wasn't like him to snap at subordinates. The Shinigami just sighed and ran a hand through his spiky hair.

"I'm fine just...frustrated..." He muttered. "It just reminds me of..."

"You don't have to say it." Ishida said with a sigh as the two continued through the forest headed back toward the Squad Nine barracks. Oddly enough, the Hollow-Eaters hadn't targeted any Rukongai settlements. But with no information, they couldn't possibly find out why. "Honestly, Hisagi-san, I don't see why you aren't a captain yourself." This simple statement came as surprise to Hisagi. The two hardly spoke about anything but the matter at hand. "You're quite possibly the most capable shinigami I've worked with."

"Is that a compliment?" Hisagi asked. With his straight face, it was impossible to tell. He received no response so he assumed that it was. "Uh. Thanks." After a slightly awkward pause, he continued, "I've considered it."

"Maybe it's time for you to stop considering." Hisagi tried to figure out whether or not he was offended. He failed and remained uncharacteristically awkward but he had a sneaking suspicion that the Quincy was enjoying his confusion a little. Was this payback for the "pretty" comment? Ishida stopped walking, confusing him even more. "Everyone bows to you when you walk by." He commented.

"They bow to you too." Hisagi remined them.

"That's because I'm the Quincy and I scare them. They expect me to go on a path for vengeance at any moment. While it is vindicating, it's not out of respect like it is for you." Ishida replied pointedly.

"Is that why you keep asking if I can go to the Captains meetings instead of you?" Hisagi asked.

"Yes, because I find it maddening that Shinigami don't see what's right under their eyes like Captain Sui Feng doesn't realize that I _do not _spend every waking moment with Yoruichi-san. So I _don't_ know the exact length of her hair. No matter how many _severely_ _awkward_ times she has appeared to us naked." The archer crossed his arms and continued walking as they passed the gate into the Squad Six barracks. Hisagi couldn't believe it, was this stuck up Quincy actually being supportive? "You're respected and capable. You're already a captain by nature, you should be one by title. It's common sense." Hisagi wondered if Kurosaki was around to translate because it still sounded like the kid was calling him and idiot.

"Thanks, I guess." He muttered. "I'd hate to hear the earful you'd give to Ayasegawa..." That part was supposed to be to himself but the kid was just so damn observant.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Uh...it's his uh..." _Promise me, Shuuhei._ "Nothing. It's nothing." Uryuu dropped the subject for both their sakes.

"How is Ayasegawa by the way?" Ishida asked.

"He's been up kicking ass and taking names since yesterday. He's fine. Why?"

"No reason."

No sooner than those words left Ishida's mouth, the ground began to shake. First like a small tremor all the way up to a violent full fledged earthquake. Every shinigami felt the earth crack and give way beneath their feet. The alarm bells sounded as loud as they could before they were silenced by the supports crashing to the ground. It was only when the shaking earth stopped that the shinigami of the Gotei 13 could see the damage and what had caused it.

"Hollow-Eaters..."

There had to be an army of these sweaty, disgusting sandworms bursting from the ground. There was no time to shout orders. There was no time to call out attacks. On the top of Sokyoku Hill came a laugh that only a succubus should be capable of. There was was that she-demon in black. Her army of abominations needed no sign for attack.

With shrieking ravenous cries, Hollow-Eaters descended on the Sereitei.

_So I left you with a sorta kinda cliffhanger. You're in for an epic battle next chapter. I hope it's epic at least. Anyway, please review as always and I love you for reading!_

_With love,_

_East_


	8. Kill

_Okay so here's the epic battle I promised you. There will be more to come. Please enjoy. I did not use the female villain's name in reference to Death Note, just so there's no confusion. I don't know much about that particular anime but it caused some confusion with my beta. _

_Names you may not recognize:_

_Name: Sakujo_

_Meaning: Delete_

_Role: Current antagonist_

Kill

"Attack! Don't let them get to Sokyoku Hill!" Morishitta's voice echoed throughout the barracks like a bloodthirsty war cry. The Eleventh Division didn't need further orders. The thrill of Captain Zaraki's reiatsu shaking the battlefield was enough to get them throwing themselves into battle. For Yumichika it was the first time in weeks that his mind was completely clear, free of no thoughts but the battle. To fight _with_ Ikkaku but never _together, _was a sad fate but one that he was perfectly content with.

However, the circumstances had changed. This was not and could not be a one on one battle. No matter what the aesthetics of his Squad were. They had to fight together and as a team just like he and Renji had that night. The thought was exhilarating finally being able to fight in tandem with the man who'd saved the life of a teenaged prostitute all those years ago.

"Bloom! Fuji Kujaku!" He severed four of those arms prey-catching arms in one fell swoop.

"Grow! Hozukimaru!" Ikkaku takes out the other four. For a man who always fights alone, Ikkaku figured that as long as it was just him and Yumichika, everything would be fine. They'd never speak of it again. No one in the Squad would. Together they ripped the beast in two and then into fours and eighths, just to make sure it was dead.

They tore through worm after worm together. Zaraki even noted, with a frown that the two were oddly alright with fighting together. He'd let them have it later. There was hope that this battle would end quickly and with minimal casualties.

_We're winning._ Ichigo thought. Having met with Captain Sui Feng, Hisagi, Chad and Uryuu back at the barracks at the beginning of the attack, they up to Sokyoku Hill to finish their mission and captrue this woman. Takeru, Kira, Hitsugaya and Matsumoto were already prepared to rush the woman down. A gang rush would work to their advantage if she had anymore Hollow-Eaters left. Hitsugaya vaguely recalled the feeling of bearing down on Kageroza. Would this woman attempt to employ the same tactics on them? Is that why her little pets had been consuming shinigami?

"You have ten seconds to come quietly." Hitsugaya declared.

Orihime and Isane, as field medics, sat behind a protective kido barrier that shielded them from sight. Orihime swallowed afraid for the lives of the shinigami that were about to risk their lives to defend what was theirs. There was something strange about this woman. Isane may have been a shrinking violet but she showed no fear in the face of battle. Not even when rushing Aizen. Looking down at Orihime, so short compared to her, she noticed the girls clasped hands shaking. She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and smiled.

"Everything will be alright." The fact that Orihime believed her wholeheartedly made it all the more painful when she was proven wrong.

"Speak!" Hitsugaya barked. Ichigo and Ishida's crew joined them atop the hill. The woman just smiled, he blond hair ripping in the wind. She seemed to summon stormy skies with her leering smirk.

"I'm not a dog, Shinigami." She replied licking her lips. "My name is Sakujo."

"Quite an intimidating name." Sui Feng was already behind the woman looking all the more smug that she was in her killzone. It proved to be her undoing. "Sting all enemies-" Her command was cut short as her target snapped her fingers. Suddenly her arm, the very arm that had been severed by the third Espada, stopped responding. She was even more surprised when it fell off her body and to the ground. Kira, Hitsugaya and Matsumoto rushed in that very minute. Their injures happened so quickly the only thing everyone saw was the blood spluttering from their bodies. Kira's healed shoulder wound burst open, the bones in Matsumoto's arm split with a loud, sickening crack and the wound on Hitsugaya's back split open.

Orihime had already knew what was happening. Everything...everything she'd ever done. The people that she'd healed...this woman, Sakujo, could undo her powers with just a snap of her fingers. It was so effortless. All of her hard work, everything she'd done for them meant nothing. Absolutely nothing. A loud scream of utter terror ripped out of her throat before she could even think to control it.

Unfortunately, this drew Sakujo right to their location. The woman was before them in no time, she couldn't see them but she knew where she was. Isane had a hand on her zanpukto already.

"So there's your little reality warper!" Sakujo taunted raising a hand into a fist to break the kido barrier. "I'll make this quick!" Her overconfidence denied her ever getting her hands on Orihime. She narrowly dodged an arrow to her face but this was a distraction as Takeru's fist slammed into the side of her face knocking her back a few feet. Ichigo was on here in seconds.

"No one's taking Inoue-san from us ever again!" Ichigo damn-near screamed. Bitter, nearly uncontrollable rage brought his blood to a boil. It seared his veins as he held Zangestsu into front of him.

"I'm not here to take her! I'm here to kill her!" Sakujo cried out cackling.

"Ban-"

"Ichigo, wait!" Ishida and Takeru called out to him for two different reasons.

"-Kai!" They were too late to stop him, though neither were too surprised. Sakujo was not impressed.

"Taking it one step further huh? You've just made it harder for you and your friends." She insisted as Ichigo was enveloped by Tensa Zangetsu. She let out a snap that, this time, echoed throughout the entire Sereitei. At this rate, Ichigo did not care.

"Shut up!" Before they knew the two were like flashes of black against black and they vanished over the edge of Sokyoku Hill. Uryuu immediately drew up a plan.

"Hisagi!" He called. "You're the fastest, you're with me we're going after Ichigo. We don't know what this Sakujo is capable of. Morishitta, Sado-kun! Take the injured that can't stand. Get them and Orihime out of here!" The reactions were immediate.

While Matsumoto and Sui Feng had taken nasty blows, they were both of their feet by the time Ichigo, Uryuu, Hisagi and their target had vanished. It was a bit disturbing to see Sui Feng carry her severed arm in her other hand. The initial shock had worn off she just needed it reattached. And Soon. For Matsumoto, though her arm was badly broken, and bleeding, it wasn't enough to keep her down. But Kira and Captain Hitsugaya would need to be carried. Isane ended up having to carry a catatonic Orihime on her back. They had to make it back to the Fourth Division and they were borderline defenseless.

In the streets below, the loud snap was still echoing. The Hollow Eaters roared and thrashed wildly. The subtext of their attacks changed completely. No longer did they attempt to consume or feed off shinigami. It was almost as is some spell had subdued their true nature. Now, they wanted to kill and destroy as much as they could.

"Bankai. Senbonzakura Kageyoshi." Captain Byakuya, as always kept his cool even through he, his lieutenant and his sister had been backed into corner. It was fortunate, however, that he should be fighting alongside the two people that knew everything about him. While he was known for his silence and composure, he'd been amazingly transparent with these two, no matter how much they believed to the contrary. One of the beasts attempted to consume his bankai and got ripped to shreds from the inside for it's trouble.

"Some no mai! Tsukishiro! Really, Rukia's zanpakuto was perfectly suited for this situation, Renji noted with a grin. With her, they could claw through these pug-uglies in no time. More of the Hollow Eaters broke through the shower of ice, sakura blades and worm bits. "Tsugi no Mai! Hakuren!" Once they were frozen, there were no verbal cues needed for Renji to take action.

"Hikotsu Taiho!" The blast completely demolished all three of their attackers. It was then that he heard a loud whistle of appreciation.

"Good to you can finally make yourself useful." Takeru couldn't resist picking on Renji, may be this was sign that things hadn't gone bad just yet.

"I didn't get promoted for no reason, Half-Pint." He retorted. That insult lost it's fire since she was almost his height now not to mention his grammar was lacking. It was then he spotted Lieutenant Kira on her back. After all these years, he was amazed by her strength. Sado and the others came up right behind her either injured or carrying someone. They couldn't possibly fight like that

"We need to get to Fourth Division. Can you get us there?" Isane asked. Rukia frowned, they were already in a pretty tight spot.

"We can try, but we can only get you as far as the Eighth Division Barracks." She said tightening her hand on her sword. Her eyes landed on Orihime, mildly horrified at the blank eyed gaze of absolute terror on the girl's face.

"From there you should run into Division Eleven and Seven, they aren't much for escort missions but if you give them something to fight, they won't be too upset." Renji added.

"You should go while we have thinned out our assailants." Captain Kuchiki said pointing the road. "Rukia, go with them and report back here immediately." _Come back alive, please._

Rukia and her zanpakuto were dancing through the enemies. It was like running through a snow storm of Hollow-Eater blood and flesh. Not that they were complaining or anything.

Yumichika felt the temperature drop before he even saw Rukia, at first he thought they come across Captain Hitsugaya, but once he heard the word "Hakuren" he and Ikkaku both hopped out of the way as the torrent of snow rushed past them.

"Watch where you're aiming, little lady!" Ikkaku shouted. "You interrupted our fight! I should challenge you for that!"

"We don't have time for that!" Rukia groused right back. "We got two wounded captains and lieutenants. We need someone to get them to Fourth." Ikkaku frowned but relented knowing he could loose his position for saying no.

"I've got melee command here, but Yumichika can get you there." He said gesturing his friend over.

"You're going to be okay by yourself?" Rukia asked as Yumichika led the others down the alleyway.

"I don't need your kido! Who the hell do ya think, you're talking to?" Ikkaku bleated. Rukia chuckled.

"I'm sorry, I forgot for a minute." She replied with a smile. "Come back alive!" She took off the way she came.

From the gates of Fourth Division were heavily guarded, but the shinigami waiting there barely needed to move once Yumichika elegantly sliced through a wailing Hollow-Eater. His fighting style was smoother than silk but absolutely merciless. Chad was almost a little intimidated. He'd never thought much of the slim narcissist but now he saw what this man was truly capable of. Matsumoto just smiled to herself.

"Well, looks like someone's feeling better." She said with a grin. Yumichika smiled back at her urging her to the shinigami guarding the Fourth Division.

"Better and beautiful." He said with a wink. Handing off Kira to one of the guards, Takeru jogged back to Yumichika.

"Yasutora and I aren't injured, we'll follow you back." All he gave them was a nod and they were off.

Ichigo didn't know when Hisagi and Uryuu caught up with him, but he wasn't complaining. To normal eyes, all four of them were nothing but streaks of black and white. It seemed a little unfair three men going up against one woman, but judging by the way he, Ishida and Hisagi were bleeding and injured, she _had_ to be stopped. This was no time for chivalry...not when it could kill you.

Ichigo was thrown to the ground for the third time, groaning loudly on impact. He was taking a lot of abuse from a woman who didn't even seemed armed. How the hell was she blocking his attacks? She broke Hisagi's kido like children's toys. Ishida and Hisagi hit the ground not too soon after him. Hisagi had to help Ishida to his feet. Judging by the head wound, the latter had a pretty bad concussion.

"Aw, don't tell me you're done already." Sakujo cooed flipping her hair. Her laughter sounded like nails on a chalkboard and echoed through the forest. Between the three of them, she'd only gotten a little cut across her face. She didn't seem to care. She advanced on them arms held out to let out another one of her deadly snaps. Hisagi was forced to keep in mind that Kurosaki and Ishida were in the most danger. Somewhere deep down, he was a little angry at Kurosaki for not thinking this out beforehand. Morishitta would've been the best match for her, with her being the only one of that group untouched by Orihime's powers even he'd been healed by Inoue-san once or twice. However, with Kurosaki dashing off, Morishitta and Yasutora were the only one strong enough to carry the wounded.

"Hisagi-san, Kurosaki." Ishida was already reeling. With all that blood streaming from the side of his face, he had to be seeing double, triple maybe. Not good for an archer. "I think I've figured it out." Ichigo sighed in relief. He'd been waiting for those words. "In theory, she can counteract any use of reiatsu."

"How?" Uryuu's vision was swimming far too much for him to be able to tell who asked him that question.

"I don't know. How's not important we just need to _stop her_." Uryuu replied. " Kurosaki you'll need to rush in directly behind me. Hisagi, seal Kazeshini. Attack her from behind before she can move. Just remember that we need her alive."

"But you can barely stand, how can you rush in?" Kurosaki bleated. Uryuu scoffed, a sound that Hisagi was slowly becoming familiar with.

"Watch me." Uryuu moved so fast, Hisagi almost thought he vanished. Sakujo wasn't even intimidated, but she fell for the initial ploy.

"Stupid boy." She snapped and before Steeleschnieder could even touch her, a wound that Ichigo knew far, far too well opened in Uryuu's stomach, covering his front of his white uniform with a growing stain of red. Blood spilled from Uryuu's mouth. Ichigo had no time to mourn over that memory right now. Just as Uryuu crumpled to the ground, Ichigo came leaping over his head. She blocked him with one hand, though at this point, he wasn't surprised. She held out her right arm to let out another loud snap and tear open the next wound she could sense had been altered by the reality warper. Once again, her overconfidence was her downfall. Ishida was right, she didn't even sense Hisagi coming from behind.

In a flash of steel, she ended up losing her right hand for all of her misplaced confidence.

The remaining Hollow-Eaters must have sensed their mistress's impending defeat. If they were wild before, they were downright murderous now. Luckily, by now, much of Squad Barracks Thirteen through Ten had been cleared an were well guarded but the beasts had approached the inner gates of he Sereitei and the sun was setting. Morale, energy and time ran dangerously low. Ikkaku while at Zaraki's side, realized that Yumichika had not come back.

"Madarame-san!" Morishitta had come careening down the alleyway, blood pouring down her right arm. She was fast for a shapely girl like her and where was her weapon? She never seemed to be armed. "Did Ayasegawa or Yasutora come back this way?" She asked. Ikkaku's irritated countenance changed completely. Zaraki just turned his back knowing that Ikkaku would want to see the feathered narcissist fight. He let him go, everything was getting boring now anyway.

"Yumi's not with you?"

"No, we got separated, I can't find him or Sado-kun." Takeru replied falling back onto a wall to rest. "We got smashed a little past the Sixth Division. It's the worst there. Captain Komamura and he others are doing all the can, but I was sent to alert others to come..." She looked up in mid sentence only to realize that Madarame had already dashed off in the other direction. "Hey! Madarame! Where are you going?" He didn't stop. "Madarame!" She wanted to run after him but Zaraki stopped her by pulling roughly on the long part of her jacket.

"Stop screaming, woman. There's no chance you're going to get between him and Yumichika." Takeru had the audacity to take her coat and snatch it away from him.

"No, you don't understand." She said desperately. "This isn't about fighting anymore. These things are _learning_. They _want_ to get us alone, if we don't follow him, they'll kill him."

Ikkaku hadn't encountered any enemies, but he was well aware of the good chance he was being watched so he remain ever vigilant as always. There was something bugging him about all this...what did this lady and her freaking worms want? First there were eating Hollows, then low ranking Shinigami...but now they just wanted to make as much damage as possible. Captain Komamura was right, it was almost like whoever was controlling these things was just testing their full capabilities. They were just lab rats at this point. A shiver went down his spine. Not even Captain Kurotsuchi would go that far and Kurotsuchi was about as fucked-up as you could get.

Komamura aside, Ikkaku's thoughts turned right back to Yumichika, as they always did. At times, it was almost as if the two just _could not_ exist without the other. They were like twins. After all this time together they could just sense when the other was in danger and right now hundreds of little alarm bells were going off in his hairless head. Why did it always seem like they got themselves in the worst scrapes when they got separated? But every time it was always Yumichika who battled himself out first and sometimes looking even healthier than when he left.

Perhaps that why he was so horrified when he found his long time companion. Of all the ways he'd seen Yumi, he'd never quite seen him look so small and frail in the looming shadow of a bloody Hollow-Eater. It seemed like someone had hit the thing with kido or something. He didn't think anything of it. He just got to Yumi as fast as he could kneeling down in the small puddle of blood no doubt made from the gaping wound in the other man's abdomen. He sighed in relief when he heard the thready but solid beat of a pulse under his fingers. He ripped off his sleeve and wrapped it tightly around Yumichika's waist. He gently turned the smaller man over.

"Shit..." He muttered in shock. Three jagged, bloody slashes were carved into Yumi's face. In a normal fight, aiming for Yumichika's face was like walking yourself to the guillotine. Judging by the worm behind them, this was no normal battle. Ikkaku swallowed. There was no way in hell that Yumi was getting out of this without a scar. Ikkaku felt a steady rise of reiatsu around him. They needed to make themselves scarce and quick. Ikkaku moved to stand up.

"...Kaku...?" Yumichika was roused by the pain of being lifted.

"Hey, Pretty Boy." Ikkaku said as gently as he possibly could. "Don't move too much you're pretty bad off."

"Sorry..."

"What the hell for? You won, nothin' to be sorry about, let's get you outta here." Yumichika fought at first. He didn't want to be a liability. But Ikkaku only held him tighter in response.

As Ikkaku prepared to shunpo, that steadily rising reiastsu exploded shaking them both the the core. Ikkaku stumbled and Yumichika heard a chilling strangled cry of pain before blood splattered onto his face. He suddenly felt himself being thrown from Ikkaku's arms. He shouted in pain as he hit the ground rolling only to look upon a horror that would haunt his dreams for years to come. Ikkaku's feet were centimeters off the ground held by a Hollow-Eater's prey-catching arm that had skewered his neck.

In that very instant, Yumichika's vision went completely red.

The pain had overwhelmed Ikkaku's senses, his vision almost instantly went black. His nerves were almost too overstimulated to feel the impact when he was thrown into the nearest wall. Almost. Madarame Ikkaku did not scream when injured. Screaming like a coward had no honor but he found when faced with such pain, you really couldn't help but scream. He thought, he experienced all the levels of agony, fighting for his life in the Rukongai, then the Eleventh Division. He'd been wrong. He'd been stabbed in the neck...it was a wonder he even had voice to scream. Wait...that wasn't _him_ screaming...

_...who...who was that...?_

"Spl...it...De...vi...ate!"

..._Yumi?_

His grayed vision turned up to blurry figures...where had all those worms come from? His hearing faded along with his vision. Yumichika's familiar reiatsu wrapped around him, but it felt different from the radiating glow he was used to. It was cascading, flowing like...

..._Vines_...?

Yes, green vines crashing into the enemies that had surrounded them. Yumichika stood among them struggling to stand, screaming like a man possessed. The vines danced above them like violent vengeful snakes but at the same time they penetrated his sight...they were the only things in color. He found it harder and harder to maintain conscious thought. His last thought before the his vision finally gave out was that the vines glowing like a emeralds...he he'd never had any use for jewels like that but he had to say with Yumichika standing among them, they looked really...

"...beautiful..."

Shuuhei and Ichigo were in a race against time, they needed to make it back before Sakujo regained consciousness but more importantly Ishida was losing blood fast. Ichigo carried him piggy back thinking just as long as Uryuu didn't stop breathing, they'd be okay. Soft, faint breaths grazed the side of his neck.

"We're almost there Ishida..." He muttered but at this point all Uryuu was only capable of a faint groan of acknowledgment. The movement was was making him sick, he wanted to spare what dignity he had by _not_ vomiting. The closer they got to the gates of the Sereitei, rampant reiastsu embraced them tighter and tighter. It was fed by nothing but rage. It was the kind of fury that drove a man to madness. With horror, Ichigo watched at glowing green vines.

"Gods..." Hisagi muttered. The grim recognition among the morbid shock in his voice wasn't missed.

"What is that?"Ichigo asked.

"It's...Ayasegawa..."

_Alright, so expect another update on Tuesday as usual. I may start updating more frequently since one can only do so much when put on bed rest during the holidays. As always, I love you readers and please review._

_With love,_

_East_

_***EDIT: There will not be another update this Tuesday. Expect to see one on Friday if not sooner. Thank you.**_


	9. Death

_**Okay Friends this is incredibly important.**_

_I will no longer be updating this story. NO. I'm not discontinuing it, but I am rewriting it because I looked at this story and realized that I didn't do good enough planning and all my name meaning are wrong. I don't want to give you guys a lackluster story whether its anfiction or otherwise. I won't be posting until sometime after New Year's Day. Either way, this story will be very different and **much** better. I will AN this story when the new version is posted._

Death

The reiatsu in the Fourth Divison was dark; heavy with mourning and anger. The scent of it was dense, almost acrid. Uryuu had been here for three days and the feeling had not changed. The silence brought on profound stillness, the kind only warriors can survive. Not only was the Sereitei in ruins but shinigami themselves. There was a time when Uryuu thought that seeing the Gotei13 struggle under the weight of its own sorrow would bring him joy. There was no joy here. Only silence.

Even the healers worked in silence. Hanatarou would occasionally be overcome with fits of anger, provoked by the tiniest little thing. He would slam his fist on the table and throw the nearest object into the wall in frustration. Not even Kiyone-san could bring Isane back from her stoic work-obsessed state. Everyone but the unbreakable Unohana seemed disturbed. Perhaps the worst was Orihime. She'd been declared mentally unfit to work for the remainder of the week. She had snapped out of her terror driven trance a few hours after the battle but she hadn't stopped crying since. When Uryuu or Ichigo weren't there with her, Rukia was.

Sakujo was in custody. The worms had been defeated, cleaned up and disposed of but this didn't feel like a victory, Ishida thought as he washed the funeral shrouds he'd been asked to make in cold water. Cold would be best, the color was better maintained that way. Perhaps the worst of all this was the horrible rumors going around. A cadet named Fura, who'd been hanging around the Fourth Division, would normally come around and tell them the latest so they would be prepared for what may come. Those who knew the Eleventh Division wouldn't believe a single word but those who didn't just made matters worse.

It was odd, Uryuu had never personally known the man, but he supposed if you knew one, you knew the other. He found himself oddly depressed. At first, he blamed it on the reiatsu, but later found that he knew the feeling of losing someone who'd been a part of your life so abruptly just a little too well. It left a large, gaping hole not only in your heart but your entire life really, knowing just what they'd do or say and expecting it to happen but knowing it can't. His mind drifted to Kurosaki for a moment. He too had been affected by the loss more than he expected to be. Uryuu frowned still disturbed by the sight of tears running down his face. Kurosaki didn't sob aloud and cause a scene, of course, but there just two small tears. Uryuu didn't know what possessed him to reach out and brush those tears away but he had. Neither of them had spoken since then. Uryuu was too busy trying to be useful and Kurosaki just didn't feel like being sociable. Not that anyone could blame him.

He sighed and hung the shroud to dry. He spied Unohana in the corner of his eye, when he turned she nodded to him and continued walking. Uryuu swallowed. He forgot this was the day she was going to stop administering the sedative. He could wake up any minute.

3rd Division Barracks

Takeru didn't react well to being tapped on the shoulder, Ichigo realized as he was grabbed by the shoulder and thrown onto the table with an angry battle cry. For a few seconds, he found himself staring dazedly up at his godsister who was most definitely in complete kill-mode for a few seconds.

"Jesus, Ichigo..." Takeru said taking her hands off of him and helping him up. "You _can't_ sneak up on me like that. I could've killed you." Ichigo missed the fact that she was completely serious.

"I'm not so sure you didn't." Ichigo said rubbing his sore back. "What's wrong with you?" It came out much harsher than he intended but she turned away, answering him before he could apologize.

"Battle-honed reflexes, what can I say?" She offered glumly before sitting back down. Ichigo frowned watching her body sink with the weight of something she shouldn't feel responsible for. She couldn't have possibly foreseen the attack, but she somehow felt it could've been avoided. Takeru tried to report the attack to her superiors so she could get back up, they didn't even answer. She even tried calling her mother, but Yamamoto refused to give her clearance and gave no reason for it but everyone knew it was because he suspected her.

"You okay?" He asked quietly.

"I should be asking you the same thing, you're the one who shut yourself up in the Squad Five captain's office yesterday." Takeru replied looking down at a sheet of paper in her hand.

"I still get a little choked up, but I'll be fine, I mean, I wasn't even closest to him. When someone's around long enough you feel like they'll be around forever. I learned that lesson ages ago but...it has ways of sneaking up on you." Ichigo said leaning on her desk. "They already set up a memorial for him. I was about to go visit." he added.

"I'll be by later I have a lot of work to do." Takeru said.

"Maybe you want me to bring you something to eat?" He offered.

"Kira's got me, I'm fine." Takeru insisted standing to her feet. She was set on leaving the room until Ichigo grabbed her.

"Takeru..."

"Ichigo, let go I have stuff to do." Ichigo decided to go for her weak spot.

"Take-chan." He ground out the name he called her when they were kids. It was embarrassing for the both of them.

"You haven't called me that since we were four." She said with a small smile but not looking at him. She sighed ruefully bending her head and finally turned to face him. "Do you know Yamamoto told me not to draw my weapon?" She bleated. "He gave the some bull shit reason, that I could damage the Senkaimon with my spiritual pressure. He suspects me and my mother and everyone knows it. I feel like I could've prevented this if he wasn't such a..."

"There's no possible way, you're in the dark just like us." Ichigo offered. "Don't let the Old Man get to you like this. Don't let..._this_...get to you like this." Takeru tried to smile but she looked like she wanted to cry instead.

"Can Take-chan get a hug?" She asked. "Cause she really, really needs one." She knew hugs weren't exactly Ichigo's way of doing things but a long pitiful pout convinced him. He awkwardly wrapped an arm around her and she in turn nearly squeezed the living day-lights out of him. Ichigo found, after a minute, that this was the comfort he needed. He squeezed her just as tightly.

"Oh." Kira's nervous voice kind of ruined the moment but Takeru did say she had a lot of work to do. "Captain Morishitta...I didn't realize that you two were together." He said with a small, nervous laugh only being half serious.

"Together...wha?" Takeru glanced at Ichigo and after a brief moment of silence the two burst into peals of laughter. Laughter that they desperately needed at a time like this. It was the _only_ reason Kira let it slide. "Sorry, Kira..." Takeru said with a sigh. "Ichigo and I are basically related. It'd be like dating my little brother." Ichigo made some indignant sound being called "little brother".

"Oh." Kira cleared his throat. "Well, everything's ready. If you need a bit more time..."

"That won't be necessary. I'm ready now." Takeru said with a nod but she smiled again when turning back to Ichigo. "You sure you're gonna be okay?" She asked.

"Are you?" He countered. Takeru chuckled.

"Point taken." She smiled and waved as Ichigo excused himself. "How does the memorial look, Kira?" She asked before turning back and walking out of the room.

"It's simple but he would've preferred it that way." Kira said holding the door for her. Not for her position but because it was the chivalrous thing to do.

"You know you didn't have to come into work with me today." Takeru said gently knowing what the man must be feeling .

"No, I had to. I can't think about it just yet...it's a little too much." The burning sensation of inadequacy coupled the loss of a friend. Kira found his shoulders sinking lower than usual. Honestly, he'd rather be drunk. Very, very drunk.

"I understand." They strode into the atrium of a basement room. Before them was a large iron door barred and locked like a cell. Kira began to prepare small tools on a metal tray while Morishitta activated one of the many Hell Butterflies. "They did as I said right? No food or light for three days."

"Only water, if just to keep her alive."

"Sounds fine, hopefully she won't take too long to break. I don't want to resort to anything too drastic." Takeru said preparing a syringe. After a pause, she asked, "Is it true that your old captain also had the authority to carry out torture too?"

"Yes." Kira said there was no sense in denying it anymore though he flinched at the sound of he latex gloves snapping over Takeru's hands.

"Do me another favor?" The latter asked quietly. Picking up on her sudden change in demeanor, Kira gave her his undivided attention. "Please make sure that Ichigo, Uryuu, Sado-kun and Orihime-chan never find out about any of this. I don't want them to know this side of me."

"Understood, captain." He watched as Takeru disappeared behind the iron door. He found himself sickened at this Agency that Morishitta was a part of. What kind of organization teaches a _young girl_ to torture prisoners?

Sakujo awoke to the sound of the heavy metal door closing. She no longer cared about waking up in total darkness, but this time she knew she wasn't alone.

"Who...who's there?" She was answered by a sharp, piercing light flashing in her eyes.

"Good Morning, Sakujo-san. Call me Morishitta." Takeru said setting the tray on a table she had put there herself. She continued to point the tiny Living World LCD flashlight in the woman's eyes. "I have some questions to ask you."

"My master will come for me." Sakujo insisted. Takeru leaned in close pointing the flashlight directly into the woman's eye.

"Oh good." Takeru said simply."Now we know you didn't act on your own and your master hasn't come for you in three days so we also know you're expendable." She was like a razor to the jugular. There wasn't a single trace of the girl Ichigo grew up with. A glimmer of fear crossed Sakujo's face. "Let's start by telling me the name of your so-called master, shall we?" Sakujo came up with the only answer she could muster at the moment and she spit in Takeru's face. Takeru just leaned away and calmly wiped her face. "Loyalty. It's a good trait I have to admit." She walked back to the table, her small heels clicking gently in the cold silence. All Sakujo saw was the bouncing ray of light. When her jailer turned, she saw the dim glint of a clinical syringe. "Unfortunately, that wasn't the answer I was looking for."

Preparing to leave his acting captain to her work, Kira flinched and gazed back at the door wondering how the screams could always be heard through solid steel.

Fourth Division

Unohana left her patient's room hands clasped tightly together. Her only job was to stop the sedation drug the rest was up to Matsumoto and the others. She recalled that chilling day just as anyone else would. Honestly, the whole thing made her sick. She didn't derive any pleasure from torture, but she would gladly take Takeru-chan's place. Why, last time she saw her, she was such a tiny little fireball accompanied by her mother. She could be considered an unholy terror among the victims of her constant pranks especially Abarai Renji who always fell for them. She was almost comparable to Yachiru-chan, though not as...well...how could you describe Yachiru? Right now, said child was fast asleep under her father's haori having cried herself to sleep for the third time in a row. It was odd to see Yachiru cry but she supposed losing an uncle...or would it be older brother?...would be enough to make any little girl cry. Beside her sat Captain Zaraki with his typical frown. He wasn't injured but rumor had it he hadn't spoken a word since the attack. It was obvious that he was here to wait for his seated officer to convalesce. That alone was so out of character for him, but everyone was too afraid to say anything.

Sighing, she strode to the water-boiling room and began to fix some tea humming to herself thinking of her healers and young Orihime. Isane always got like this every time someone she knew was killed or gravely injured in action. Kiyone would always worry and try to cheer her up but she would eventually snap out of it. Hanatarou, however, concerned her a little more. Because of his meek personality, he'd never been capable of maintaining a lasting relationship, friendship or otherwise. Now that he was older and stronger, he was finally beginning to experience pain that wasn't his own. He wasn't dealing with it well. As far as Orihime-chan was concerned, she was just badly shaken, once they figured out the reason this woman could counteract her abilities and was stopped completely, then she'd most likely recover quickly. She was resilient.

With the tea finished, she poured two cups and walked back to where Captain Zaraki had been sitting for the past hour. She looked briefly up at the sky from the veranda where he sat. The clouds threatened the ground with heavy rain with loud thunder and lightning. She set the tray beside Zaraki before sitting down herself.

"He wakes up today." She said, not expecting him to respond. She took one of the steaming cups and began to drink. "Isane was not my first lieutenant." She stated simply. "His name was Fumei Yukue. I treated him like I would any soldier, made him follow the same rules. However, when he died, I wept over him as if he were my own son." She turned to him and smiled sadly. "You don't have to lose them both." Zaraki said nothing. He didn't even look at her but he grabbed the cup and began to drink.

Together, they watched the storm clouds roll in.

Down the hall, Hisagi found the strength to walk into the room Captain Unohana just vacated. It was just so eerily quiet...he would never associate this shinigami with absolute silence. He couldn't even hear him breathe. Matsumoto was originally supposed to do this but the minute she saw what had happened to her friend's face, she had to leave the room. _"I can't...I...I just can't do this."_ She hadn't come to visit since yesterday. Iba was next in line but he was "in charge" of setting up the memorial. Renji just flat out said no; unwilling to admit that he was in the same position as Matsumoto. Hisagi must have been very low on the list until Fura let slip that Hisagi reported to Captain Zaraki that he'd known about that shinkai since Ichigo and his friends first invaded the Sereitei. An involuntary shiver went down Hisagi's back, he would've rather had Zaraki kill him than receive the pointed monosyllabic grunt he got in response.

The room itself was sparse with only a cup of water, a waste bin and Fuji Kujaku and Hozukimaru sitting quietly in the corner one on top of the other. Hisagi frowned deeply. He was surprised they let him keep it. It took him a while to realize the shinigami he'd been sent to see had been awake for the last five minutes.

"Shuuhei...?" He sighed irritably when he was called by his first name but he decided just to let it slide considering the circumstances.

"How're you feeling?" He asked.

"Sore." Came the croaky response. The other frowned. "I sound hideous."

"You've been in a medically induced coma for three days, Ayasegawa." Hisagi said as gently as he could. Really, he and Yumichika weren't even friends unless they were drinking, already drunk or Renji or Matsumoto were in the room. Otherwise, they knew about each other's shinkais and left it at a mutual understanding that if either of them breathed a word to anyone else about the true nature of their swords, all bets were off and someone's head would roll by the end of the battle.

"That's no excuse." Yumichika replied trying to sound irritated. Hisagi just handed him the water. There was silence between the two as he drained the cup.

"Do you remember _why_ you're here?" Hisagi asked quietly. Yumichika didn't answer for a long time but had long since figured out what happened.

"Who saw it?" He asked quietly. Hisagi turned away from the scarred face in front of him.

"Everyone."

"I think I'm going to be sick..." Hisagi thought he was exaggerating until Yumichika clamped a hand over his mouth. He scrambled for the waste bin the turned away as Yumichika vomited what little he had in his stomach. By the time Hisagi handed off the bin to a passing healer just outside the door, Yumichika had turned ghostly white with his hands shaking violently. Hisagi's heart fell suddenly realizing that Yumichika was living his greatest fear. He sat beside him on the bed. He placed a hand on the other's shoulder but he ended up flinching away. "What did I do?" Yumichika asked grimly.

"Ikkaku was badly injured. You were...hysterical..."

"You're sugar-coating. Stop it." Yumichika demanded.

"You nearly went insane." A scream like that would haunt Shuuhei's dreams for a long time. "It took four of us just to hold you down. Me, Iba, Komamura, and Renji. No one there knew strong enough kido to hold you. It was finally Captain Zaraki who knocked you out."

"But...but...why...? Why would I...?" Looking down, he spotted Hozukimaru on the ground and his eyes grew wide. "Ikkaku! He's been here. What did he say? Does he still..."

"Yumichika." Shuuhei calling him by his first name struck him in the chest like a burning hot railroad spike. Hisagi didn't expect this to be so hard. He'd broken the news of death to a friend before but never like this. The more they talked, Hisagi began to realize that Yumi had gone to great lengths to hide this secret from everyone. Yesterday he was living the life he wanted with a man he'd all but given his heart to but now...

Shuuhei just sighed and stood to his feet. He strode over to Ikkaku's Zanpakuto. With hesitant hands, he picked it up from it's long-time companion. He could practically hear Ruri'iro Kujaku screaming to have him returned. It was odd holding a dead zanpakuto, Shuuhei realized. It was so light. He handed Yumichika Ikkaku's sword.

"He's dead."

Not too far from the Eleventh

Uryuu made his way back to the memorial with Madarame's funeral shroud neatly folded. The memorial was astonishingly simple but beautiful in a way. Iba-san obviously had Yumichika in mind when making this as well. There he found Kurosaki, who he nodded to, Matsumoto and Iba but Renji was strangely absent. He hadn't seen him all day but in light of the circumstances, he thought it rude to ask where he might have gone.

"Matsumoto-san." He said quietly to get her attention. Her face was flushed and her eyes swollen with tears she didn't even bother to hide.

"Hi, Ishida-kun." She said glumly. "That's Ikkaku's, I take it." Ishida nodded but Matsumoto just sighed. "Thanks." She was about to take it when she heard Iba mutter under his breath. They all turned in his direction but found him staring down the road. The languid, sorrow ridden atmosphere tensed as everyone spotted the shadow that was once Yumichika shuffling behind Hisagi-san. Iba couldn't put the horror he felt into words.

Yumichika was no longer himself. That perfect face was marred by three jagged scars. One was etched over his cheek and two crossed over the right of his forehead like a mark of shame. Was there nothing Unohana could do to lessen the scarring? For some people, scarring of the face was mark of honor but not for Yumichika. Iba would be the first to admit that Yumichika was easily one of the loveliest Shinigami he'd ever seen. They'd been friends since the Academy but because they'd been so close, he knew that every time Yumichika looked in that mirror he loved so much all he'd see now was failure. Shuuhei stopped at the small group of people while Yumichika walked ahead blind to everything but the grave stone.

"Has he seen his face?" Iba asked quietly.

"No." Came the grave reply.

The thunder roared above them as they all turned watching sadly as Yumichika knelt in front of Ikkaku's grave. Iba couldn't deny the pain that grabbed his gut and nearly wrenched it into his throat. The _one thing_ Ikkaku wanted more than anything in the world was to die fighting, to go down in a blaze of glory giving everything he had to an opponent that was genuinely stronger than him. That was the end he'd wished for his entire afterlife. He dreamed of that moment. Yumichika dreamed of that moment. Iba dreamed of it. Watching their friend and brother achieve his greatest goal in life, that was happiness. Sure, there would be sorrow, but the whole would've been filled the relief that Ikkaku died happy. That never happened. He never even saw it coming. He was killed from _behind_ as if he'd been running.

He didn't even get the chance to draw his sword.

"I should go." Uryuu said quietly turning to leave as the rain began to fall. The funeral shroud was still in his hand. The other nodded to him, acknowledging him taking his leave.

"You broke your promise." The statement was practically inaudible but it stopped Uryuu dead in his tracks. Everyone turned back to Yumichika who was still facing the memorial. "You promised me." He repeated.

"Yumichika..." Iba sighed but his friend didn't hear him.

"I never asked anything of you. Anything." Yumichika's scratchy voice grew louder and louder as if it could summon thunder itself. "We made a deal. You were supposed to go down fighting. You promised me. You promised. _You promised._ You told me..." Rangiku swore she felt something inside Yumichika snap. "You told me you'd go down fighting!" Yumichika screamed. "It was all I ever asked of you! I gave up everything! You _were_ everything!" Shuuhei's eyes blurred with tears. He'd never seen anything like this. Yumichika crawled and ground up the mud breaking his precious manicured nails he obsessed over. Hisagi had never seen this level of grief. This was absolute rock bottom. "You were supposed to go down fighting, you great big bald IDIOT!" Ichigo felt someone grab onto him. He figured it was Matsumoto. He placed a hand over the other's but didn't look down. "How could you? Why did you go back for me? You should've left me there! I should've died instead of you! _I'm_ the coward! _I_ should be dead, I would've never disgraced you or the division! You should've let me die!" Iba lost it at this point. He took off his glasses but covered his face in shame sobbing quietly. Rangiku was now crying freely into Shuuhei's chest but the latter just held one arm over her and looked away. Ichigo suddenly realized it wasn't Rangiku practically crushing his arm, it was Uryuu. "You should've never gone after me! You didn't deserve this! Why did you come after me? Why do you _always_ come after me?" Yumichika's words eventually degenerated into agonized, wordless screams. Covered in mud up to his elbows, his nails beds were completely torn up and bleeding. Uryuu could swear even the thunder was lost to the sound of his screaming voice. Everyone stood there, helpless, unsure of what to do. Matsumoto couldn't seem to stop crying. Shuuhei had nothing say and Iba was far too ashamed of himself to approach Yumichika now.

Uryuu and Ichigo glanced at each other, one shaken and the other was in dismay. Ichigo opened his mouth to speak but he reconsidered as a familiar shadow loomed over him. Turning around, they all froze at the sight of Captain Zaraki

"Clear out."

Sixth Division

Renji was quiet. Byakuya noted. He had every right to be. He knew how close his lieutenant was with Ayasegawa and Madarame and in all honesty, he'd lost them both. Madarame was dead and Ayasegawa was irreparably scarred. Honestly, he never cared much for the narcissist for the way he seemed to occupy his lieutenant's time and constantly distract him when he should be working...or distracting him in general. Aside from advice on how to maintain clear skin and smooth hands, the two hardly spoke. However, he found himself feeling some degree of sympathy for Ayasegawa. Madarame was a warrior for the ages and to be fatally wounded from behind? It all seemed very unfair to him.

The loss of Madarame was felt throughout the Gotei 13 not simply because of the death itself but the impact it had on Ayasegawa. The man hadn't even known his friend was dead but he'd been provoked to such anger, Byakuya doubted that the man would wake up sane. Perhaps that's why he suggested Renji come to the Division today. He didn't have to work, but he shouldn't be alone. He wished to spare Renji the pain of seeing his dear friend bending over the precipice of sanity again. He had to admit, as annoying as he found Ayasegawa, you'd have to be made of steel to not to be disturbed by such a show of sorrow. Kuchiki Byakuya was not made of steel. Stone maybe, but not _steel_. He sighed as he set a small tray of tea by Renji and turned to leave the room.

"Thank you, Captain Kuchiki." Renji said before he could get to the door. Byakuya didn't waste time embarrassing them both by replying so he just nodded but Renji stopped him again...because Renji doesn't know when to leave well enough alone. "What...kind of tea is this?"

"Spearmint and Green Tea." Byakuya replied. "Good for aches and pains...of all kinds." _This is the extent of my sympathy._ He told himself. _This is all that needs to be said._ Of course with Renji that was never the case. He should expected as much.

"I didn't think you liked Ikkaku."

"I didn't but you did." Byakuya answered pointedly. He was still trying to leave the room before the conversation got too long winded. It wasn't that he wasn't good at conversation. He just didn't like it. No matter what cat-monster said. Renji, of course either didn't notice or didn't care. Frankly, Byakuya never understood the other's need to constantly _talk_ not just when he was upset but about _everything_.

"I think I would've felt better if he'd gone down fighting." _Renji, please don't make me __do this._ "It's just so fucked up, you know?" _Why are you doing this to me?_ "And what about Yumichika? What does he have to remember him by besides those scars?" Byakuya hoped that was rhetorical. When he saw Renji blink at him expectantly, he knew his hopes were for nothing. He wasn't going to answer at all until he heard the soft, bitter and mirthless laughter. It made him stop wanting to run for the door that's for sure. Renji didn't make noises like that, he wasn't supposed to. It...bothered him. "They were some of my closest friends...Yumi's still alive but I just...feel like I've lost them both." Byakuya realized with a frown than that wasn't a laugh. Renji was, in fact, trying not to cry. Sighing, he approached the latter and placed a hand on his shoulder. Normally, a noble wouldn't bother with a Rukongai bred dog but a good captain also showed compassion toward his subordinates. Besides, Renji made his days seem a little less...a little less...well...everything. Repay loyalty with loyalty and friendship with friendship.

"Then you must take caution not to lose yourself." Byakuya replied. "If Ayasegawa is truly a fighter then perhaps you should have a little more faith in his will to live." He was unaware of just how close he was to Renji until the other bent his head unintentionally resting his forehead on his captain's chest. Suddenly Byakuya found it impossible to resist his impulses. Before Renji could lift his head back up, Byakuya who'd found it impossible to resist the need for physical contact any longer, placed both hands on his shoulders. Renji's eyes went wide as his captain wrapped his arms around him. "Everything will be alright, Renji." Byakuya's voice was flat, he sounded like stone but Renji could hear the warmth and compassion that no one else could. With small, shuddering sob, he buried his face in his captain's shihakusho. Byakuya ran a comforting hand through Renji's hair deciding that deep down, he really liked Renji being this close to him. However, he wished that they could be this close under different circumstances.

Perhaps they'd discuss it later.

That Night

It was night fall before Ichigo and Uryuu saw each other again. Uryuu had taken over the night watch with Captain Kuchiki since Hisagi was still in a bit of a state and Matsumoto said she didn't want to be alone tonight. They were both still deeply affected and bothered by Ayasegawa's outpouring of grief. Ichigo couldn't sleep just thinking about it. It dug up the memories of his sisters screaming for their mother.

No matter how long it'd been, Ichigo would always dream about his mother when things got bad. They weren't terrible dreams, but he would always wake up in this thick haze of depression. Everything seemed just a little bit darker. He sighed and scratched the back of his neck wondering if Kenpachi had ever returned from Ikkaku's grave. His heart sank as the thought of Zaraki killing Yumichika for his Zanpakuto. Zaraki would never go that far would he? Ikkaku and Yumichika may as well have been his sons. He always referred to them as his "boys". "_Feh this is fucking boring, my boys could take you, no sweat!" _and_ "I wouldn't even let my boys fight such a useless freakin' coward."_

The Eleventh Division would never be the same. The little whispers across the training grounds were _painful_. Zaraki had literally only spoken two words for the entire week but one word from _anyone_ about taking Yumichika's place as fifth seat woke up in the Fourth Division. It took three victims for the message to get across. _No one is taking Yumichika's place_. But Ichigo couldn't help but feel that there was a "yet" hanging on the end of that sentence.

"Kurosaki?" Ishida had spotted him before he even realized he'd been staring arbitrarily into space for the past ten minutes. "You're supposed to be sleeping." He said jumping from the wall.

"Couldn't." Ichigo answered curtly. He sighed loudly and crossed his arms. There was silence in between them both for a moment. Uryuu gazing at the walls beyond him and Ichigo glaring a the ground. "This sucks."

"Good. At least one of us said it." Uryuu muttered crossing his arms. Ichigo didn't miss the lack of Uryuu's signature sarcasm. So he asked in spite of himself.

"You going to be okay?" He asked conversationally, not looking at him.

"I will be." Uryuu replied laconically. "It was Ayasegawa's outburst...it..." He paused almost unwilling to admit it but he found it was useless to put it off. "...got to me." It got to everyone. He wasn't sure if Hisagi and Matsumoto had stopped drinking yet. He'd thought of checking on them but Uryuu wasn't sure if he could take anymore crying today. He'd never shed a tear of his own but Ishida felt waterlogged with tears from Orihime, Yumichika and even Hisagi. He shut his eyes tightly and briefly removed his glasses pinching the bridge of his nose. "This has spiraled out of control very quickly." He stated simply. "Whoever Sakujo is being led by is laughing at us."

"I feel like a labrat." Ichigo agreed. As Uryuu turned his back to Ichigo to collect his thoughts, Ichigo caught a glimpse of something he wasn't supposed to see: a glimmer of something that wasn't fear or insecurity but could only be described as one or the other. He watched as Uryuu wrapped his arms around his own thin frame. _Had he always been that skinny?_ He briefly averted his eyes feeling as though he'd intruded on a private moment.

"I feel very...sorry...for Ayasegawa." Uryuu said suddenly.

"It's hard not to." Ichigo replied incredulously not sure what brought on this sudden show of concern and for a shinigami, no less. The only way Uryuu would ever do that is that if he could relate to him in some way. He supposed they both did. He closed his eyes for a moment and broke the awkward silence. "Hearing him cry like that reminded me...of the day my mother died and hearing my sisters cry. It got to me too." This would've been easier with_ anyone_ else.

"Someone with so much pride, struck down before he even had a chance to fight." Uryuu mused sadly before he thought to even care about what he was saying. "It made me think of my mother too."

"Can I ask how she died?" Ichigo asked.

"Breast Cancer. She had all this strength and two words just destroyed her." Uryuu replied in a quiet voice that Ichigo believed that only Orihime had ever heard. "I'd always known that she'd fought Hollows but Morishitta-daibo told me she was actually a legacy Quincy. She was loving like her name implies but she was a queen bee, icy and prideful even during the worst times of her illness." Ichigo smiled.

"Bo-chan was right." he replied with a soft chuckle. "You really are just like her." Uryuu finally turned around. Ichigo expected to get reemed out for being so mushy but Uryuu was smiling. He had no sarcasm for this moment.

"Thank you." He said. "Really, Kurosaki, thank you. That means a lot."

"Do you ever wish you knew her better?" Ichigo asked knowing that he could over-step his bounds at any moment. He didn't know where Ishida's boundaries were at this point, but he was certain he was going to walk straight through them at some point. For know, he felt extremely...privileged. They'd never truly spoken like this. This side of Ishida was absolutely fascinating.

"Sometimes." Uryuu admitted quietly, turning away from him again. Ichigo stepped closer as if he thought he were going to run away. "Sometimes, I wonder if things would've been different if she'd survived but I suppose that that's just a waste of time." After a brief pause, Uryuu felt Ichigo's arms wrap around his shoulders. _What_. He jostled and tried to resist being held like this.

"Will you stop?" Kurosaki groused. "You know I'm not good with words, and this is the only way I can get what I want to say across. It works for Takeru." Ishida fought the urge to laugh. "I'm hugging you. This is happening. So just accept it." For a moment, Ishida wasn't having any of that.

"Kurosaki-" Uryuu tried to say as he attempted to wiggle himself loose. Ichigo held him tighter.

"I said accept it. I'm comforting you, just deal with it, okay?" Ichigo insisted. He expected the Qunicy to whip around and give him what-for but that never happened. For a moment, he knew that the person in his arms was tired of fighting and in that moment, so was he. There would be a time to yell and snark at each other again, but not now. They needed this. Unfortunately it all lasted for about five seconds.

"Move." Zakari Kenpachi's voice ripped the two boys apart and they stood aside to let him through. Yachiru did not speak to them. Carrying an unconscious Yumichika bridal-style, Kenpachi walked between the two boys. Silently, he carried him all the way to the Eleventh Division. He strode into the barracks glaring at anyone who stared. Some shit heads still hadn't learned their lesson.

He laid Yumichika on his futon. He would've done it gently but he wasn't good at gentle. Besides, the kid wasn't awake to feel it so it didn't really matter anyway. He always felt so strange in Yumichika's room. Everything was so neat, fancy and clean. He was none of those things. Normally it wouldn't bother him but Yumichika was the only person who had the balls to nag him. He groaned rubbing the back of his neck. Yumichika was a walking powerhouse but you could never see it just by looking at him. That's what he found so intriguing about the kid. He would bitch about messing up his hair then pile drive anything he fought into the ground without a second thought but there were times...times where he'd just vanish and come back looking bright and healthy, like he'd been reborn. Like the time he fought Tousen-bastard's lieutenant.

Now that he knew why...he didn't know what to do. You can't fight emotions. He tried to fight emotions when it came to taking care of Yachiru. In the early days when she couldn't even walk on her own, every time he tried to leave her behind, she screamed bloody murder. You just can't fight that kind of pressure, damnit! Unohana would titter and call it paternal instinct. Whatever the hell it was, it was dragging him down for the first time in his life and it was pissing him off. He'd already lost one of his greatest fighters. He didn't need to lose another one.

He felt like ripping the nearest thing apart thinking of the fucking bastard who robbed Ikkaku of a suitable death. He'd be pissed off about it for a very long time, the rest of his life if possible. He'd lost both of his best fighters, his _boys _who'd been with him for_ years_, loyal as hell and bloodthirsty. Ikkaku had been stolen from them...and Yumichika, as much as he hated to say it, no longer had a place in the Eleventh Division. Not for that stupid rule. Fuck that. That may have been a Kido zanpakuto, but it was deadly. If he kept that thing hidden anymore it'd kill him. He wasn't going to let Yumichika go the way of Ikkaku and go down without a chance to fight. He really hated it when Unohana was right and he really, _really_ hated that she was right _all the damn time_.

The bells from the first division began to ring and he sighed. Standing, he made to leave the room.

"Ken-chan?" Yachiru asked, her voice still raw from crying.

"Keep an eye on 'im." He said to her. She nodded and sat crossed-legged at Yumichika's bedside. She clapped her hands twice and she bent her head. He didn't think Yachiru was the kind of kid who did any praying but then again, he thought he knew everything there was to know about Yumichika too. He just left the room trying to ignore how loud the bells were getting. The Old Goat was calling an emergency meeting.

"This had better be pretty fuckin' urgent not to send a damn butterfly."

_Okay, The new story doesn't have a name yet but the plot line will be similar. Not the same but similar. I hope that you will be as faithful to that one as you were to this. Special thanks to Haddrell for all your support and thank you to all of my reviewers. I'll be back soon!_

_With Love,_

_East._


	10. NOTE

Hullo! Important note everyone!

The Rewrite of this story Contrivance: The Nightmare Complex is now up! Please read and review. I promise it will be much better this time around.

With love,

East.


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